Saving Me
by con's girl
Summary: What Randy Orton really needs is for someone to believe in him when the world falls apart around him. Can a special someone give him his confidence back? RandyOC, plus mentions of other wrestlers.
1. A Chance Meeting

**Notes:** This is a story that I have been working on for some time and it's still a work in progress. It starts last spring after Wrestlemania when Randy was suspended from Smackdown for 60 days. It vaguely follows storylines and real-life events but most of it is fictitious and the product of my own imagination!

**Disclaimer:** I do not not own Randy Orton, nor do I own anything having to do with the WWE. I only own my OCs, and they are based on people that I do not own either. The title "Saving Me" is from the song by Nickleback, and once again I do not own that (if I did I would be really rich!). This story is copyrighted to me.

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_Chapter One: A Chance Meeting_

Another match. Another loss. It seemed to be the story of Randy Orton's life lately and there was little he could do to change it. He had screwed up his career and management was angry at him right now, so he was being punished onscreen by losing match after match.

He wasn't even getting any heat anymore, which showed just how badly his career seemed to be plummeting. He had always been able to garner heat, even when he had been a curtain-jerker or mid-card player. Then Evolution happened and he became part of one of the greatest heel factions in history, cementing his place in the spotlight. The place that he was now dangerously close to losing.

He didn't want to see anyone and he definitely did not want to talk to anyone. It wasn't as if there were going to be hoards of guys in the locker room wanting to hang out with him; after all, he had pushed a lot of people away and now that Dave Batista was injured and John Cena was on Raw, he was pretty much alone in the Smackdown locker room. Randy was used to being alone and he didn't need a lot of people, but it would be nice to be considered a normal person once in awhile and not an evil bastard who pulled pranks on the divas and had no respect for the veterans.

So he had played a couple of jokes on a few of the girls, big deal. Most of them could take it and joked with him right back, but a few of them became very upset and accused him of some horrible things. They were lies and everyone knew it, but his reputation had been tarnished. He wasn't the "lady killer" that his character thought he was; in reality, Randy was just a regular guy who liked to go out and have a good time. He had his share of women, but he treated them with nothing but respect.

As for the veterans, the "legend killer" was all character and anyone with half a brain knew it. Some people in the locker room had decided that they wanted him gone, however, and were doing whatever they could to make it happen. Randy knew he wasn't helping matters by pushing his friends away and keeping to himself, not to mention being rude to some of the people outside the arena who wanted him to stand outside and sign stacks of the same pictures for five hours just so they could be sold on Ebay. He hadn't quite perfected the art of dealing with all of that, but he was working on it. In the meantime, he did not appreciate some of the veterans ragging on him for things that they knew nothing about. They didn't know him.

The locker room was empty, just like he expected. Randy sighed to himself as he shoved his t-shirt in his gym bad and pulled out some clean clothes. They were in Madison Square Garden that night, close to the new apartment that he had purchased not too long ago. As much as he loved St. Louis, it was easier for him to travel by living in New York. It suited the fast-paced lifestyle that he had chosen to adopt as of late.

Since he was close to home, he decided to get cleaned up and then grab some dinner before stopping by a nightclub and drinking his sorrows away. Getting drunk seemed to be his self-destructive weapon of choice lately. It was usually alcohol or girls, and sometimes he combined the two if he really felt like forgetting everything. Tonight, however, simply alcohol would do.

Randy hurried about the locker room, showering quickly and changing into a nice pair of black pants, a black t-shirt, and his new and expensive black leather jacket. It was the beginning of April and the city was thankfully beginning to thaw out from the cold and snow of winter. The show had just finished and he knew it would only be minutes before others joined him. He wanted to gone and within seconds he was.

Randy made his way down the halls and past some of his co-workers. He kept his head down and avoided eye contact, letting them think whatever they wanted about him. He never gave a damn what people thought about him before and he wasn't about to start now.

The cool air was refreshing after the stifling atmosphere of the arena, but it quickly came to his attention that there was a mob of screaming fans waiting outside the barricade. They began to yell his name when they recognized him and he waved and smiled as he made his way to his car. He did stop for one girl who seemed to be about ten years old and signed her "Legend Killer" t-shirt. His heart warmed when he saw the smile that spread across her face when he finished and it was odd to him that doing something so simple could make someone's day. He didn't understand it but he was glad he could make her happy.

He sped away from the arena in his expensive car and drove deeper into the bright lights of New York City. He was contemplating dining at some swanky restaurant but the idea was suddenly becoming less appealing. After the brutal match and even nastier loss he wanted some quiet for a bit before he went out partying.

Randy knew exactly where to go get a decent meal in peace. Though he didn't frequent the establishment often, he had been there a couple of times and knew that it had good food and a quiet atmosphere. It was exactly what he needed tonight.

Sal's was located in the heart of Greenwich Village, right near New York University. The clientele consisted mostly of college kids, but it never seemed to be all that busy at this time of night. He parked nearby and as he approached the small restaurant he could see through the windows that there were only a few customers.

The inside was quaint and bright, with tables and booths as well as a counter to sit at. There was no hostess so you could sit wherever you wanted and not be bothered. Randy chose a quiet spot at the corner of the counter so that his back would be to the rest of the patrons. He certainly felt inconspicuous sitting there.

He glanced at the menu and tried to decide on what to order. He had yet to see anyone who looked like they worked there and he doubted that the group of kids sitting at the opposite end of the restaurant were employees. Where was the server?

Randy cleared his throat as he scanned the drinks that they served and began to tap his fingers impatiently. He was thirsty and wanted some service, for goodness sake. Was that too much to ask?

He heard footsteps a few seconds later, and when he looked up his eyes nearly widened at what he saw. The waitress had come out of the back room and she was certainly not what he had been expected. A young twenty-something with long dark hair and even darker eyes placed a textbook and notebook at the other end of the counter before making her way over to him. "Sorry about the wait," she apologized brightly as she pulled out her small pad of paper. "We don't get many customers at this time of night so I was in the back studying and didn't hear you come in. What can I get you?"

Randy swallowed and felt his senses return to normal. This girl was absolutely beautiful…and a pleasant surprise. "One of your chicken sandwiches with no mayonnaise and a beer," he told her.

"Sure thing," she replied as she scribbled the order down. She took the menu from him with the same bright smile that she had approached him with and put the order in. Randy watched as she went about her business, humming along to the soft radio playing as she got his drink for him.

She placed his drink in front of him, then went to go check on her other table. Randy took a sip of his beer and focused his attention on the books on the counter. He was curious as to what she was studying, mainly because there was nothing else to occupy his attention. He made out something related to English and almost laughed out loud. He was so glad he never went to college.

She came back behind the counter and they suddenly locked eyes. There was something about this girl that was just so…normal. She hadn't recognized him and treated him like any other customer. He usually enjoyed having girls throw themselves at him, but this was a different and surprisingly pleasant change of pace.

"Is your beer okay?" she asked.

"Huh? Oh yeah, it's fine," he answered quickly, slightly embarrassed that he had been caught

staring at her. "I was just trying to figure out what you were studying."

"Oh." She grabbed her books and brought them over to him. "The wonderful world of English literature and the great classics. It's fascinating stuff."

He began to flip through the book and noticed that most of it dealt with grammar and writing style. "Studying to be a writer?" he asked as he looked up at her.

She smiled again, but this time it was different. It was just as bright, but there was a passion behind it that hadn't been there before. Randy assumed that it had to do with her choice of future profession.

"It's been my dream since I was little," she confessed. "I love writing and I want to make people fall in love with books again. You know, write something meaningful that touches people's lives."

Randy couldn't help but smiling at her reply. Her description of how she felt about writing reminded him of the passion that he used to have for wrestling, before all of the drama surrounded him and he realized the ugly truth of backstage politics.

"It's good that you do something that you love," he found himself saying. "So many people get stuck in a job that they hate and they waste their lives away."

"Has that happened to you?"

It wasn't a nosy or prodding question, just a simple one that was made out of conversation. She looked interested, but not as if she was prying so he was a bit confused by it. "What do you mean?" he asked in reply.

"Well it's pretty obvious that you're not from around here," she explained. "And that's not a bad thing, it's just that you don't exactly fit the type of people that usually come in here. Call me crazy, but your demeanor is a bit sullen and it seems like you have a lot on your mind. It could have nothing to do with your job, but I just find it odd that we're talking about careers and a depressed look crosses over your face."

Was this girl a mind reader or something? She was reading into his emotions just by the way he looked and the "vibes" he was giving off. Before he had the chance to respond, she said something else that shocked him.

"Sometimes it helps to tell a complete stranger your problems," she suggested.

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Why would you want to hear about them?" he countered.

She shrugged her shoulders. "In case you haven't noticed, there isn't much around here to keep me entertained and I really don't want to have to keep studying. Plus, you look like you have a really interesting story and being the aspiring writer that I am, I love stories."

He began to laugh and he shook his head. "Normally I would tell you to take a hike, but what the hell? I have nothing better to do either. Before I share my deep dark secrets, though, there is one thing that I want to know."

"What?"

Randy smiled genuinely for the first time all night. "What is your name?"

He hadn't been expecting an answer because it was clear that this girl was unlike anyone that he had ever met before. He half expected her to say that her name was none of his business and the conversation was about him, not her. But to his surprise, she did decide to reveal her name.

"Katharine. Katharine Bauer."


	2. Just Like The Movies

_Chapter Two: Just Like The Movies_

It was a beautiful name, just like her. Elegant, classy, and perfectly fitting for her. Randy had no idea what her name was before he asked her, but now that he knew he couldn't imagine her being named anything else.

She was a strange dichotomy, a blend of elegance and a poverty-stricken college student in the Village. He had always prided himself on his ability to read people, a skill that he had not been putting to much use lately, and he could tell that there was something different about her. She might be young but she had experienced life and it had not gotten her down. He admired that.

"I think this is pretty unfair," she said.

Amazing. Her voice betrayed no coyness, no sense of flirtation. There was no "come-hither" look in her eyes that he was so accustomed to seeing in women. She was talking to him as if he were just another customer, someone to make conversation with to pass the time. As much as he enjoyed flirting and being with women, he couldn't deny that he liked this a little bit more.

"What's so unfair?" he replied. "Do you normally have conversations with people without knowing their names?"

Katharine laughed and it was a pretty sound, like a favorite song. "No, but it's unfair because I don't know your name. So far this conversation is completely one-sided."

She wanted to know his name. A sudden wave of panic overcame the content feeling that he was experiencing. What if she recognized him once he gave her his name? He was enjoying talking to Katharine as a regular person and not having to think about work, and that could change very easily in the blink of an eye.

She was looking at him expectantly, waiting for him to say something. If she truly was a wrestling fan, which he doubted she was given that strange dichotomy that he had noticed before, then she would've known who he was already.

He cleared his throat. "Randy Orton," he said simply.

Katharine smiled at him and he was relieved when he realized that it wasn't a smile of recognition. She had no idea who he was.

She stuck her hand out. "Well it's nice to meet you Randy, and now that I know your name we can continue our conversation."

Randy shook it. She had tiny hands, or maybe his were just incredibly large. Either way, they were soft and smooth and sent a shiver up his spine. What was gong on? He never reacted this way to women. He was the one to make them shiver, not the other way around.

Katharine didn't seem to notice what she was doing to him, and he groaned inwardly as he felt that shiver reach down to his center. His pants were suddenly too tight and no position was comfortable. He was extremely grateful at that moment that the counter was separating them, making it impossible for her to see his lower half.

The let go of each other and she leaned against the counter. "So why do you hate your job?" she asked matter-of-factly.

"I never said that," he answered her. "It just gives me…problems sometimes."

She pursed her lips together. "Do tell."

He shook his head. "Is this going to end up in a book or something? If it does, I want to receive royalties."

She laughed again and he liked knowing that he was the cause of it. "Most likely not, considering I'm nowhere near close to being a published author. I'll tell you what, though. If I do end up using it in some future piece I promise to omit certain details and keep your identity a secret. Plus, I'll see what I can do about those royalties."

It was his turn to laugh now. "Fair enough. As I was saying, my job can be difficult. There are lots of rules that you're supposed to follow and I've never been very good at playing by rules."

Katharine raised an eyebrow. "Are you in the mob or something?"

Sometimes the WWE felt like it was the mob, but he could honestly answer no. "Definitely not. It just has this code that everyone is supposed to follow, and if you're fairly new to the company it can be a little brutal."

"I'm guessing you're fairly new then."

Randy nodded. "Only four years in, and I've achieved a lot in that time. It makes some people cranky but I've worked for everything I've ever gotten. I used to run with this crowd that was really experienced and had a lot of respect within the business, but the time came for me to go on and do my own thing. That's why it kind of sucks right now. I'm paying my dues on my own and taking what the rest of the boys dish out. The only problem is that I have never been the type of person to sit back and let people walk on me."

That was all he was willing to tell her about it. If he revealed anything else, he would be dangerously close to blurting out that he was a professional wrestler, the youngest World Heavyweight Champion in history, and on the fast-track to getting fired.

Katharine looked confused, but she must have decided against pushing for more information because she didn't ask. She looked thoughtful instead, like an idea was rolling around in her head and she wasn't sure if she should say it.

Randy wanted to know what it was, though. "You're thinking something. Go ahead and say it."

She shook her head. "I don't much about your business, or what exactly you do for a living, but it sounds to me like you are expected to go through hazing and take it without complaint. I mean, you have to pay your dues in every business and line of work, but you shouldn't have your dignity taken away from you and be forced to act like it's nothing."

"Is that what it sounds like to you?"

"Isn't that what you've implied?"

Touché. How the hell did Katharine perceive all of that from the little he had revealed to her? This was the second time in one conversation that she had been able to pick up on things that most people never saw.

He must have looked angry because she bit her lip. "I'm sorry," she apologized. "I have no right to make judgments about your life when I know nothing about you. It's a bad habit, I guess."

Randy stared at her, completely stunned. He had no idea what to say because in the five minutes that he had spoken with her, she had said everything that he had been thinking for the past year. It was so easy for her to say it because she wasn't in the WWE. People outside of the business did not understand what it was like and what you were supposed to deal with in order to make it to the top. Veterans in the locker room had suffered through worse shit than he had and they were supposed to take it out on you in order to make you stronger.

_But it didn't make it right_. That was what Katharine had implied and that was how he felt. He understood paying dues. He understood showing respect. He didn't understand getting shit on repeatedly just so that some guy who had had a rough time breaking in could feel better about himself. Lately, that was what had been happening. Everyone saw Randy as a cocky young kid who didn't deserve half of what he had been given, and while he certainly hadn't helped change their minds with his recent actions, they were wrong.

He was about to say something when a bell dinged, letting Katharine know her order was up. He watched as she hurried away and picked up his food, her hips swaying invitingly and her long hair bouncing against her back.

_Get a grip_, he urged himself. Katharine was hot, no doubt about it, but he hadn't come here to pick up a girl for the night and he knew she wasn't like that. Truth be told, he liked that about her.

She brought his dinner over to him, then began to walk away. "Where are you going?" he called to her.

Katharine turned back around, confusion written all over her face. "To let you eat in peace," she replied simply.

"What if I want to keep talking?"

She slowly came back over to him. "Then I'll listen and I promise not to make judgments again."

Sweet. Katharine was elegant, classy, and sweet. It was a character trait that he didn't come across very often in women, or at least, not with the women he tended to run with. It was a characteristic that he had little experience with.

"You're right," he told her as he began to eat. "You're right about everything that you just said. I shouldn't have to take people's shit just to do my job, but unfortunately, that's the way my business works. I love what I do and I want to keep on doing it then I'm going to have to learn to deal with it."

"What is your job exactly?" she asked.

Randy smiled at her. "How about you make one up for me when you write your story? I'll leave it to your imagination."

"My imagination has you in the mob," she replied. "Because short of professional sports, I can't imagine any other job that makes such demands of a person."

Randy winked at her. "Then make me a mobster in your story, even though I assure you that I am not."

Katharine raised her eyebrows. "You're getting a little ahead of yourself here Randy. I said you _could _end up in a future story, not that you would."

He shrugged his shoulders. "I have a feeling that you'll be writing about me someday."

Randy was flirting and he knew it. He couldn't help it. Katharine was just so interesting, so fascinating, that he wanted to play around with her. He wondered how she responded to flirtation and was anxious to see.

"How's your dinner?" she asked. "Can I get you anything else?"

Apparently she didn't respond to flirtation at all because there was no trace of it in her question. Either she hadn't picked up on his it or was choosing to ignore it. He decided to just let it be, especially considering that it was not his intention to flirt with this girl until she decided to come back to his apartment with him. It wasn't that he wouldn't enjoy a night with Katharine because he had a feeling that she would be an amazing lover, but he wanted to stay noble for once. She seemed like a nice girl, and a nice girl would never do the things that he could imagine for them.

"Everything is fine," he answered calmly, doing his best to conceal the increasing lust that he was feeling.

The telephone in the restaurant rang and Katharine went to answer it. Randy busied himself with eating, pretending that there was something so fascinating about his dinner that he couldn't tear his eyes away. His real intention was to avoid having to look at her more, because her every movement sent his lust spiraling out of control. Damn, when was the last time he had been laid?

Katharine was beautiful, but Randy knew what kind of women would come back with him and what kind wouldn't. She definitely fell in the _would not_ category and he had to admit, he was disappointed. Granted, she was a student and far less worldly then many of the women that he had been with, but there was something incredibly attractive about that. Something enticing…

He shook his head as if to clear those thoughts away. He would just go to one of his favorite clubs and meet up with some ladies that he was friends with. They were always more than willing to satisfy his needs and show him a good time during the process, mainly because he was a good lover. He wasn't being arrogant, it was just the truth. He knew how to satisfy women and drive them wild, and he reveled in that ability. It was a good skill to have.

Katharine hung up the telephone and came back over to him. "So what are you going to do about the problems you're having at your job?" she asked.

He tilted his head a little. "Uh, I don't know. Why do you ask?"

She giggled. "Well when movies portray situations like this, the despondent customer spills his guts to the complete stranger at the counter and then gets some advice that changes the course of his life."

"Don't those scenes usually take place at a bar?"

She rolled her eyes. "I got you a beer so this counts."

Randy sighed a little. "I really don't know what I'm going to do, but I guess I'm going to have to get my act together. If I want to stay I have to play the game." A thought suddenly occurred to him and he leaned forward. "Do you know that we have spent this entire conversation talking about me and my problems at my job? We've barely spoken about you."

"Not true," she disagreed. "We talked about how I'm going to be a writer and I'm going to create a story about you in the mob."

"That barely scratches the surface," Randy said. "Tell me something about you so I don't feel like a complete loser who only thinks of himself."

Katharine smiled and pushed a curly piece of hair behind her ears. "There's not much to tell."

Randy locked eyes with her, his baby blues holding her dark depths captive. "I doubt that's true."

Her eyes were expressive and conveyed every emotion that she was experiencing. There was something there that he couldn't quite make out, but it was clear to him that she didn't want to talk about herself. A foreign emotion registered in his head as he tried to read her, and it seemed a lot like insecurity. What would a gorgeous girl like Katharine have to be insecure about?

She swallowed hard and broke away from his gaze. "I see you finished your dinner," she said quietly, almost shakily. "Would you like your check?"

Randy sat back and thoughtfully chewed on the inside of his cheek. He had never met a woman who wasn't willing to open up to him. Katharine was different on so many levels, and he knew he wasn't ready to let her go. "Sure," he replied just as quietly.

She fished around in the pocket of her half-apron and pulled his bill out. "I'll take it when you're ready," she told him, then took his plate away.

The bill was cheap but Randy pulled out way more money than was necessary. He was a generous tipper on a good day and Katharine had been the best waitress that he had ever had. While her back was turned, he tore his clean napkin in half and scribbled his name and cell phone number on it. He would leave the choice up to her, but he was making the offer.

He handed the check and payment to her, complete with his number and smiled. "Thank you for a wonderful dinner."

"Do you need change?"

Randy shook his head. "No change necessary. I'm glad I met you, Katharine. You put a lot of things into perspective for me."

She smiled back at him. "Good luck with everything, Randy. I have a feeling you'll be just fine."

He looked at her for one final second, then walked out of the small restaurant. He had no idea if she would ever call him, but the option was there for her and he hoped she would take the initiative. In the meantime, he was going to try and get his act together because his future depended on it.


	3. A Man's Gotta Fight

Here's another chapter for everyone to read...let me know what you guys think and any suggestions you have about the story. I'm always open for feedback!

PS: Katharine will definitely **NOT** be a wussy female character...I swear! She has had her share of problems but she is instrumental to helping Randy get back on his feet.

I fogot to mention this before...if you are offended by swearing/implied sexual scenarios then this is not the for you...just wanted to throw that out there.

As always, I own nothing :)_

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_Chapter Three: A Man's Gotta Fight_

Why in the world had he given her his number? That thought had been running through Katharine's head every waking moment of the following day. It hadn't taken her long to realize that not only had he tipped her extremely generously, but he had also written his cell phone number on a napkin.

She knew next to nothing about Randy Orton, but one of the things she did know was that he had to be rich. Who else would leave a two hundred dollar tip for a waitress at a tiny restaurant in the middle of Greenwich Village? Sure they had talked, but that was because he seemed lonely and she was bored. It was more money than she had seen in quite awhile.

Money was tight for her but Katharine was scraping by as best as she could. She worked at the diner as often as she could, picking up extra shifts for people who called in sick or took vacations on top of her own. She also managed to maintain a near perfect grade point average and had been on the Dean's List every semester for her two and a half year college career. Her grades were important to her because they reflected her work ethic and would be very influential when it came time to try to secure an internship and a job.

Failing wasn't an option for Katharine and she refused to settle for anything less than achieving everything that she had set out to do. People had told her all her life that she would fail and she had no intention of proving them right.

Success seemed like such a long ways off, though. She worked nonstop and had little to show for it, except for great grades and a dingy apartment that was barely tolerable. She lived with her friend Kellie, the only true friend that she had ever had. Katharine was a loner and closed herself off to most, but she and Kellie had so much in common that it was impossible to do that with her. They both wanted to make their dreams a reality and had no one to support them besides each other. She didn't know what she would do without her.

Kellie had been ecstatic that Katharine had finally met a guy and had wanted her to call Randy right away, but she refused. Katharine was too nervous and worried that he had only acted on impulse. What would a wealthy and classy guy like Randy want to do with a struggling college student like her? It just didn't make sense so she decided to forget it.

The problem was that Katharine was having a hard time forgetting _him_. Her mind wandered to him while she was in class, while she was working, and while she was studying. Last night had been the first time in a long while that she had felt attractive and desirable. She knew that he had been flirting with her a little, but she had no idea how she was supposed to react or what would happen if she did. She had been hurt one too many times to go down that road again.

But feeling desirable was a fantastic feeling, one that she couldn't let go of. While she knew that she would never call Randy and that he would forget about her, she would never let go of the night that had made her feel worthy again. Trying to pursue anything further with him was terrifying and something that she would not face. He would forget. They always did.

Randy wanted to forget. Really, he did. A week had passed and there had been no call from Katharine, no message, and no sign that she was interested in talking again. That was fine with him because he didn't need her. There were plenty of other things to do with his time besides pine away for a girl that he had known for all of five seconds. He was Randy Orton and he pined away for no one.

So why couldn't he forget her? Was it because she had rejected him? No, that couldn't be it. He really didn't care all that much about being rejected because he knew that the could find another women to spend his time with. Maybe it was because she had been different, and had treated him like a normal person with the same problems and hopes as everyone else. Maybe it was because for the hour that he had been with her he hadn't felt like the scum of the earth.

Randy turned the volume up on his Ipod as he plugged along in his workout. Since losing at Wrestlemania three weeks ago he had felt sluggish and he needed to pick up the pace if he was going to keep up. Everyone was waiting for him to fail and he didn't want to prove them right.

It was Tuesday, show day, and he was dreading having to go to the arena. Being there meant dealing with the locker room and he had no patience for that right now. Try as he might, he could not get perspective and put himself together long enough to shut his mouth and take the heat in the locker room in order to pay his dues. It just wasn't in him to do that.

He had almost come to blows with John Layfield the other day, and if the big Texan hulk didn't back off he was going to pound his ass in the ground. He was tired of being called a pretty boy and a slacker who had used daddy to break in to the business. He was tired of it all.

Randy finished his workout and stretched a little. He had just enough time to get cleaned up and head to the arena on time to find out what he was scheduled to do that night. Maybe he would get a win tonight, but he doubted it. No such luck for him right now.

Forget a win, Randy just wanted to make it out of the match alive! He was in the ring, his head swimming from the clubbing blow that JBL had just delivered to him. A clear stiff shot, it was completely uncalled for considering Randy had been all but gentle with the beer-guzzling brute.

JBL was supposed to go over but completely squashing Randy hadn't been the plan. Apparently, Layfield refused to play by the rules and was going to make this difficult on him. If he wanted to fight dirty, he was going to get one hell of a response.

Randy struggled to his feet and threw everything that he knew about protecting his opponent out the window. He gave it to him good and every shot was stiff. He could see the surprise in Layfield's eyes, but all he got in response were more stiff shots and even harder hits.

Layfield got the win as scripted, but Randy vowed to himself as he lay in the ring that this wasn't finished. He was tired of taking shit and was going to give some back, starting now.

He made his way to the back, selling some very legitimate injuries, and pushed through the curtain. He completely ignored the production staff back there and stormed after JBL, ready to take a stand.

He followed him to the locker room, which was half-empty. Randy really didn't care if there were any witnesses, and he didn't care how hurt he got. Sometimes a man had to fight.

"What the hell were you doing out there, Layfield?" he demanded angrily.

John turned to him, eyebrows raised and shock evident on his face. "I was teaching your punk ass a lesson," he retorted. "Stop walking around like you own this locker room and we'll get back to real wrestling."

Randy stalked over to him, his nostrils flaring and anger spewing from his eyes. "I've had enough of your shit," he yelled. "I'm through being your personal punching bag. I've paid my dues and I respect the hell out of you, but when you purposely threaten my well-being out in the ring and try to end my career I take offense. I'm not some new green kid that you can push around whenever the hell you feel like it. I work my ass off for this company and I love this business. If I didn't, I sure as hell wouldn't be here taking all of the abuse that you give me day in and day out!"

Layfield's shock turned to anger and he shoved Randy backwards. "Listen you little punk, I'm going to give you two seconds to walk away and we'll pretend this never happened. Keep on going and you're not going to like how this turns out."

Randy's eyes narrowed to slits and he grit his teeth. He knew that this likely would not end well for him but he had to stand up for himself. He _needed _to take a stand and not back down.

"Bring it Layfield," he growled. "I've had enough of you and your shit!"

That was all the veteran needed to hear to spring into action, and a fight ensued in the locker room. Even though Randy had won more than his share of fights in the past, it was clear to him that this one would not turn out that way. Layfield backed him against the wall and delivered repeated hits to every body part that existed. Randy refused to go down without a fight, though, and was able to get in some clear and severe shots of his own. He was able to push away from the wall and tackle John to the ground, pounding away with all of the pent up anger and frustration that was inside of him.

He was only able to get a few hits in before he felt some of the other wrestlers pulling him off of Layfield. It was almost funny how John could beat the living daylights out of him and no one said a damn thing, but the minute Randy gained the advantage the fight was broken up.

Randy stopped trying to fight them off of him and breathed heavily, waiting for the adrenaline to slow down. His lip was busted open and his stomach ached horribly from the punches that had been delivered to him. He couldn't calm down and wanted to fight some more, anxious to rid himself of this anger that was slowly eating away at him.

"Come on Layfield, is that all you've got?" he shouted. "You can't face me so you have to get your boys to hold me back? Come on man, I'm right here! Let's finish it!"

He shook his head. "You are one stupid shit, you know that?" Layfield retorted. "If you think this is over, think again! You'll be lucky if you even have a job left by the time I'm through with you!"

He stormed out of the locker room with all of the other wrestlers following behind him. Randy was left alone and the magnitude of what he had just done finally set in. He had wanted to stand up for himself and prove that he was tough, but in the process he had pissed off one of the most respected veterans who was now going to try to get him fired. "Fuck!" he screamed as he punched the wall in anger, not even feeling the impact as his knuckles nearly cracked against the force. What had he done?

* * *

Uh oh, Randy's in trouble! What's going to happen to him? You'll have to wait and see:) 


	4. Judgment Day

I'm back with another chapter for your reading pleasure! I want to thank **Reece**and **loony ninja** for their kind reviews:)

**Note:** This chapter takes place about a week and half after Randy and Katharine's first meeting.

Disclaimer and all that good stuff...now on to the story!

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Chapter Four: Judgment Day_

There was nothing left for him to do but face up to the consequences of his actions. Randy knew that it wasn't going to be easy, but when he spoke to Vince McMahon he was going to take full responsibility and all of the blame. Regardless of what JBL had done to him in the ring, he had intentionally provoked a fight and there was no denying that. He could only hope that he would still have a job once this was all said and done.

Vince had come to find him some time later after the fight and informed him that he needed him to come to WWE Headquarters in Stamford the following day. Randy had simply nodded, knowing that the boss was far from pleased with him and that he was going to have a lot of explaining to do.

Randy spent the night cleaning up after his injuries and trying to calm himself down as he booked an early flight out to Connecticut the following morning. No matter what happened, he needed to remain in control of his emotions and not do anything to upset his boss any further.

It was very hard for him to stay calm while he was sitting across from Vince McMahon in his office that day, however. It was almost as if he was ten years old and had been sent to the principal's office for playing too roughly during recess; the only difference was that the consequences were much worse now than they would have been then.

"What do you have to say for yourself, Randy?" Vince asked, his voice not betraying anything that he was thinking.

Randy took a deep breath. "The fight was my fault, sir, and I apologize for it. I was angry that John was fighting me stiff in the ring and I lost my cool. I take full responsibility for what happened and I am truly sorry."

He could see the chairman's expression soften faintly. "What is going on with you, son? I've known you since you were young and you have turned into a good man, but lately it's like you're a different person than the boy that I hired four years ago."

How in the world was he supposed to answer that? Randy felt like a different person, someone that he didn't even recognize. He had no idea how he changed so much, and even worse, he didn't know who he was anymore. There was no way he could make up some answer to that question, so all he could give was the truth. "I don't know," he answered quietly.

Vince leaned forward and looked him square in the eye. "I have faith in you, Randy. We all do, but you need to show us that our faith has not been misplaced. You need to get whatever is going on with you under control and I'm going to give you the time to do it. After your match next week you will be suspended for sixty days, during which time you will take anger management courses and seek counseling. Once the sixty days are up, I will give you another chance."

Randy heaved a sigh of relief. He still had a job. Granted, he was suspended for some time and was being sent to a shrink, but he still had a chance to make things right. He nodded his head slowly. "I understand, sir. Thank you for giving me a chance."

"Don't make me regret it."

"Never," Randy replied earnestly. There was no time for games anymore because he was walking on thin ice. He knew that he had to get things under control before he lost the life that he had worked so hard to build for himself. He was going to make this right. The only problem was that he had no idea how to do that.

* * *

Katharine stared at the application in her hand and bit her lip nervously. One of her professors had given it to her in class today, saying that it would be a good opportunity for her and that she could consider doing it. It was an application for a short story contest, sponsored by the New York Post and open to aspiring writers and journalists. The grand prize was five hundred dollars, publication of the story in an upcoming issue of the Post, and consideration for an internship with the company. It was everything that Katharine had ever wanted and yet she was terrified. She didn't even have a story written yet to submit and her piece needed to perfect.

Katharine closed her eyes and leaned back against the couch. This was her chance and she was hesitating in jumping for the opportunity because she was afraid of failure. All her life she had been told she wouldn't make it and wouldn't amount to anything, and now here was her opportunity to prove everyone wrong. She needed to believe in herself but she didn't know how to do that anymore.

She hadn't always been so insecure, but that was before life had gotten the best of her. Katharine tried her hardest not to let her troubles, both past and present, get her down but it was impossible not to sometimes. She knew there were people out there who had it much worse than she did so she tried not to pity herself too much.

All she wanted was someone to believe in her. Kellie did but it wasn't the same. She wanted someone to think the world of her, to care for her more than life itself. That was what had been lacking in her life in recent years. She needed more than just what one friendship, as great as it was, could provide. Her friend understood that because she felt the same way, too. Part of the reason that they were so close was because they had gone through similar experiences and could relate to one another. However, the problem with a friendship like theirs was that they were both too haunted by their old demons to focus too much on their future.

It felt like she was struggling to get by nowadays. Even though she was able to keep up with her bills and school work, Katharine wasn't _living_. She was just going through the motions, absently letting life go by while she closed herself off. Her writing was the only escape from the protective shell that she had created around herself, and that was why she needed to go forward with the story contest. She needed to seize life's opportunity for once in her life and succeed for herself.

Katharine needed to take the advice that she had tried to give Randy a week and a half ago. She needed to stand up for herself and take control of her own life because she couldn't take living this way anymore. It didn't hurt to enter this contest, and if her work didn't make the final cut at least she had the satisfaction of knowing that she tried.

She sat up and opened her eyes, staring once again at the application in her hands. She wondered where Randy was and what he was up to. Hopefully he had been able to work through whatever problems had been bothering him that night at Sal's.

Her eyes drifted over to the small table in the corner of the room where she and Kellie kept all of their important things, such as bills and letters from school. The napkin with Randy's number was still there, and even though she still wasn't planning on calling him she couldn't bring herself to throw it away. That piece of paper was a reminder of the one night that she had been able to forget all of her troubles and had been able to just enjoy the moment. It also reminded her of all that could go wrong if she let her guard down too soon.

Her introverted nature was screaming at Katharine to protect herself and to forget about Randy, but her instincts were telling her otherwise. She knew that she was nowhere near ready to seek another relationship at this point in her life, but that didn't mean she couldn't be friends with a man. Despite her insecurities, she knew that he had to be interested to some degree if he had gone to the trouble of giving her his number.

Katharine felt her temples beginning to throb and she sighed, frustrated at the fact that her mind refused to shut down and let this go. "That's it," she muttered to herself as she got up from the couch and went over to the table. She gingerly picked up the napkin and stared at the seven numbers written on it. "Just do it, Kat," she urged herself. "You know you want to."

Before she could change her mind, Katharine picked up the telephone and dialed the number. It rang a few times before Randy's voicemail picked up. She was slightly relieved because now she could leave a message and see if he was interested enough to call back.

"Hi Randy, it's Katharine from Sal's," she said after the tone beeped at her to record her message. "I decided to call and see how everything at work was going for you. Anyways, I hope all is well with you. Give me a call back or stop by to see me at work anytime if you want. Take care."

She hung up the telephone, then stood motionless by the table for a few minutes. Her heart was beating a mile a minute and she took a couple of deep breaths to calm down. It had been a week since she had seen Randy last and she doubted that he would return her call, but at least she couldn't say that she had been too chicken to try. It was a fairly insignificant action, but making that call had been the first step that Katharine needed to take in order to change her life around.

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That was a fairly short chapter by my standards and I know it was filled with lots of thinking, but it's necessary in order to understand where Katharine and Randy are coming from. The action picks up again in the next chapter so stay tuned...! 


	5. Take The Risk

I'm back with another chapter for your reading pleasure...this one's a bit longer and it's one of my personal favs.

Thanks so much to everyone who has read and reviewed:

**Reese**, I love character chapters too! That's probably why write them over and over again LOL

**Caged Sparkle**, thank you so much for your kind words! I'm sorry about the typos; that is the one area that I struggle with in my writing, even after I've proofread (just ask my professors LOL). Glad you're enjoying the story and I hope you like what's coming next!

I won't be able to update until Monday at the earliest...I'm going out of town so hopefully this one tides you guys over for a few days! Disclaimer and yada yada...now on with the story!

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Chapter Five: Take The Risk_

Two whole months to himself. That was a luxury that Randy hadn't experienced since the summer before he joined the army. Granted, he wasn't exactly thrilled at how the time off had come about, but he was trying to make the best of the situation. If he could get his issues under control then he would be able to earn back Mr. McMahon's trust and support, and his future would be set once again.

Randy was prepared to do whatever was necessary to make things right and he didn't even dread his anger management classes, but the therapy was something that was difficult for him to accept. There was no way he was going to be able to talk to some shrink about himself for an hour session and then listen back to the doctor's screwed up analysis of his life and what he had done wrong.

He had been officially off the roster for four days and already Randy was bored. He was planning on going home to St. Louis soon to see his dad and the rest of his family soon, but he refused to crash there for the whole two months. He needed to stand up on his own and…find something to do. He had already thrown himself into training more intensely and had even made an appointment to change up the tattoo on his back a bit. As for the rest of that Saturday, he had no clue what to do with himself.

Randy pattered about his Manhattan apartment, tired after having watched rerun after rerun of early 1990s television shows. Michelle Tanner was beginning to get on his last nerve. He could go out that evening, but for once he wasn't in the mood to be partying. Alcohol wasn't going to solve his problem, and neither would hooking up with random girls.

As he entered the kitchen with the intention to make himself something to eat, he saw his cell phone sitting on the counter where he had left it a couple of days ago. He had left it turned off ever since Tuesday when the news broke that he was being suspended. There was no way in hell he wanted to field calls from people asking what had happened. He also knew that Dave and John were going to be on his case and he hadn't been in the mood to hear it.

A few days had passed now and Randy knew he couldn't hide out forever. Eventually he was going to have to tell them what had happened and face the lectures that he was bound to receive. He turned his phone on, and sure enough there were multiple messages awaiting him. He scrolled through his missed calls, seeing the familiar numbers of his friends on the log. He stopped when he saw a number that he didn't recognize. It was a local number, meaning that the call had come in from somewhere in New York City. Randy dialed his voice mail and checked his messages, anxious to find out who belonged to that number.

After deleting calls from John and Dave, he heard a message from Katharine. He had to replay it again to make sure that he had heard right. He thought he would never hear from her again, but once again she had surprised him. He smiled when he heard her suggest that he call her or come see her at work sometime. He listened to the date and time of the recording and realized that it matched the time of the unfamiliar number that had been on his call log. Randy quickly scribbled the number down and hung up his cell phone.

She had cared enough to call back. He thought that she didn't want to hear from him again after she chose not to make use of the number that he had given her, but apparently he had been wrong. He didn't know if he should call her back and play phone tag or take a chance and go to Sal's to see her. Randy glanced at the clock on his microwave and made his decision. There was nowhere he had to be and no obligations to adhere to so going to the restaurant to see if she was there sounded like a better idea to him. He grabbed his car keys and headed out of his apartment, feeling his mood brighten for the first time in days.

It was a beautiful spring day in Manhattan and Randy actually took the time to notice it for once. Normally he was so busy running about to make it to an appearance or to the arena that he never paid attention. There was something calming about having this time off, he realized. He had been running himself ragged and trying too hard to prove himself that he had lost sight of the little things that made life what it was. Regardless of what happened with the counseling and anger management classes, he knew that simply having time off would help him regain control of everything.

It didn't take Randy long to reach Greenwich Village and as he drove by the restaurant to park his car he could tell that it was busier than the last time he had been there. Katharine probably wouldn't have much time to talk but he could wait. He had nothing better to do with his time right now anyways.

He climbed out of his car and went over to the window to peek inside. Sure enough, Katharine was working behind the counter just like he thought she would be. She was laughing and talking with customers like she had done with him that night. A small pang of jealousy stabbed at him but he quickly pushed it away. He had no reason to be jealous because she wasn't his girlfriend.

He walked inside, feeling a little more inconspicuous this time since he was dressed casually. He felt strangely nervous at the prospect of seeing Katharine again, a foreign emotion to him because he never got nervous around girls. He had thought to himself on more than one occasion that she was different, however, and this was another indication that he was right.

The restaurant was so busy that Katharine did not have the time to notice him. Randy saw that the spot at the counter that he had previously sat at was open so he hurried to grab it. He would wait as long as it took for her to realize that he was here, and he would stay even longer so that he could have a real conversation with her.

Randy didn't even bother looking at the menu; instead, he focused all of his attention on her. She seemed overworked and a bit tired, but that was to be expected considering the large number of customers in the place. Her long dark hair was swept up in a messy bun, but few stray wisps broke away and framed her face. One thing he knew with absolute certainty was that she was positively beautiful, but that wasn't the only thing that drew him to her. He knew from their simple conversation that she was beautiful on the inside as well, a characteristic that was hard to come by in most of the women that he had been with.

He had to constantly remind himself that he wasn't here as a way to try and get into Katharine's pants, but it was hard to remember sometimes because she provoked such a physical reaction inside of him. Regardless, he couldn't deny that he was attracted to her, but what was so surreal to him was the fact that he was attracted to what was inside of her, to her heart and soul. She had a beautiful soul.

His breath caught in his throat as she looked in his direction out of the corner of her eye. At first it seemed that it had only registered with her that she had another customer, but then she did a double-take and her head whipped around so that she was looking at him. Her expression was one of shock, and to Randy's delight, happiness that he was here.

He gave her a small wave and she scurried over to him. "Hi Randy!" she greeted him brightly. "It's good to see you again."

A dopey smile spread across his face and he felt as though he was grinning like a school-boy, but he could not seem to wipe it away. "Likewise. I'm sorry I didn't get your message sooner but I've been…out of touch for the past few days."

"Oh it's okay," she reassured him. "I'm sorry it took me so long to call you. School was really crazy this week and you can tell how busy I've been here." She gave him a disappointed smile. "As much as I would love to stay and chat, I can't devote myself to another conversation right now because I have too many customers."

"Ah, it's fine," he said in reply, taking his chance to reassure her of something this time. He wasn't sure what she would say to his next question, but what the hell? It couldn't hurt to ask.

"Do you have a break soon?" he blurted out. "I mean, I don't mind hanging around so we can talk."

Katharine looked as if she couldn't believe that he had just asked her, and not because she was offended. He wasn't trying to be egotistical but her eyes conveyed the fact that she was shocked that he was interested in her. If she only knew just how interested he truly was.

"I have better than that, actually," she informed him. "My shift is over in about an hour, so if you don't mind waiting-"

"I'd love to," he interrupted, then mentally chastised himself for sounding so eager. Just because he had an inexplicable fascination with her didn't mean she felt the same way about him. "I mean, I would love to hang out with you afterwards if you're free."

She giggled at his response and he felt a hint of a blush creep into his cheeks. He never blushed!

"Well I guess you're in luck then," Katharine replied in a tone that almost sounded coy, yet still betrayed the innocence that he knew lurked inside of her. "My social calendar is free for the rest of the day."

"How about I come back in an hour ?" he suggested. "I'll pick you up and we can catch a movie or something."

She smiled at him. "Sounds like a plan."

Randy stood up from his seat, a smile spread firmly across his face as well. "All right then. I'll see you in an hour." He knew he was playing it cool on the outside, but on the inside he was completely melting. That girl had the ability to do things to him in one simple conversation that no other girl had ever been able to do after a night of dating and sex. He was definitely looking forward to spending the rest of the day with her.

* * *

She had said yes on an impulse and even though her heart desperately wanted her to go, the rational portion of Katharine's brain was kicking in and warning her of all of the terrible things that could happen to her if she went out with him. She was a good judge of character, at least most of the time, and she knew that he would never harm her physically, but all bets were off when it came to the emotional factor. She had promised herself that she would work harder to take control of her life again, but that was easier said than done when Randy Orton was staring at her with his gorgeous baby blues that made her want to jump in his arms and forget that the rest of the world existed. 

Even though she tried to make herself regret saying yes, Katharine found that she couldn't do so. She was happy to be going out with him, and even a little excited about the prospect of getting to know someone new again. The last time she had felt that way was so long ago and it ended in such a disaster that it was a road that she never wanted to travel down again. Exposing herself by being vulnerable and letting someone in put her at risk for such a heartache all over again.

She pushed the negative thoughts out of her mind as she stood in front of the mirror in the back room of the restaurant. She had just finished her shift and was doing her best to make herself look presentable. Her hair and clothes smelled like food cooking but there was nothing she could do about it. It came along with being a waitress.

Katharine let her hair down and finger-combed it, the bouncy curls regaining their shape and falling down the middle of her back. She sprayed her simple perfume and touched up the little make up that she was wearing before deeming her appearance appropriate. She pulled her black jacket on over her simple t-shirt and jeans, then headed out into the restaurant.

Randy was sitting at the counter waiting for her, but he rose to his feet when she entered. "Long time no see," he joked.

His comfortable smile put her at ease and she grinned back at him. "I know, I feel like I haven't seen you in ages!"

They left the restaurant and stepped out into the spring air. "So what do you want to do?" she asked as they made their way to where his car was parked down the block.

"This is probably a really dumb question since you work at a restaurant," he began, "But I was wondering if you were hungry and wanted to get something to eat."

Katharine laughed and Randy's eyebrows creased together. "Was it something I said?"

"I am positively starving!" she said with enthusiasm. "Saturdays are so busy that I never have time to eat when I'm working. I would love to go actually sit down some place and take the time to eat a meal."

Randy laughed at her enthusiastic reaction. "Okay then, how about I take you to one of my favorite places? A little Italian bistro not too far from here?"

She adored Italian food so it was an easy decision to make. "It sounds perfect."

They reached his car and Katharine nearly gasped at the sight. It was a sleek black convertible that looked brand-new and so expensive that she was afraid to sit in it. She knew Randy was rich from the tip that he had left her, but if the car was any indication of just how much money he really had then her suspicions had barely scratched the surface of his wealth.

"Have you ever ridden in a convertible before?" Randy asked her after noticing her reaction.

Katharine swallowed and turned to him. "Definitely not one like this," she replied.

He held the door open for her and she hesitantly climbed inside. "Then I will make sure you enjoy the ride."

She detected the flirtation in his tone and she couldn't help but feel happy at being the recipient of it. It was definitely a heady thing knowing that someone like Randy was flirting with her. In that moment she made the decision to forget all of her fears and simply enjoy getting to know him.

Randy cranked the radio up loud and sped away from Sal's, dodging traffic and taxis with moves that a race car driver would envy. Katharine leaned her head back against the leather seats and enjoyed the ride. The wind blew her hair around her and she felt…alive. It had been a long time since she could say that.

She looked over at Randy and smiled to herself. He was concentrating on his driving and didn't notice that she was staring at him. He was incredibly handsome, definitely the most attractive man that she had ever laid eyes on. He looked different today than he had the night that she first met him. Dressed down in a hooded sweatshirt and jeans he looked straight out of an ad for Abercrombie and Fitch on Fashion Avenue. Katharine still had no idea why someone as wealthy and drop dead gorgeous was interested in her, but she wasn't going to complain. She had promised herself that she would shut her mind off and that was exactly what she was going to do.

"Thanks for asking me out for the afternoon," Katharine said loudly above the radio. "It was really sweet of you."

Randy looked at her quickly and grinned. "Thanks for accepting."

The way he smiled at her was enough to make her blush. Katharine felt her breathing quicken slightly and stared out the window. Taking a risk every once in awhile was definitely a good thing.


	6. Confessions and Truths

I'm back with a new chapter, as promised! I hope you guys like this one...I know it's a bit heavy on dialogue but I feel it is necessary in order for the characters to get to know one another.

I wanted to say thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed this story...it means the world to me! My schedule is super crazy right now so even though I haven't had the chance to respond to each one of you personally, know that I respect your opinions and am grateful for your continued input! I hope the rest of this story lives up to your expectations and you enjoy it...I tend to write long stories so this one is nowhere near its end!

**Note:** Katharine is 21 so any drinking done in this story is completely legal!

Enjoy the chapter...the next one will be posted in a few days after it has been written to my satisfaction!

Disclaimer...

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_Chapter Six: Confessions and Truths_

Not only had Katharine never ridden in a convertible like his before, but she had definitely never been to the Italian bistro that Randy had brought her to. He became aware of that fact when the valet took care of the car for him and they walked into the restaurant. He figured it had to do with her status as a college student who worked her life away to pay for her tuition, but there was no doubt in his mind that someday her writing would make her lots of money.

Truth be told, it was refreshing to be spending time with someone who didn't take his money and expensive tastes for granted. He had a feeling that Katharine would have been fine with going to Subway for lunch but she deserved more. They had practically just met and Randy knew that already.

She sat across from him, her eyes scanning the menu and her lips thoughtfully pursed together. Her dark curls framed her face, contrasting beautiful with the creamy color of her skin. She wasn't very good at hiding her emotions and Randy knew exactly what she was thinking. "Order anything you want," he told her. "Lunch is my treat."

Katharine glanced up at him. "These meals cost more than I get paid for one week," she whispered. "Are you sure?"

He chuckled. "I'm positive. I'm not exactly hurting for cash."

She raised an eyebrow slyly. "Because of the mob?"

Randy's chuckle turned into a deep laugh. "Yes, because of the mob," he joked.

Katharine giggled as well and went back to trying to decide what she wanted for lunch.

Their server came a few minutes later and they placed their orders, along with a request from Randy for a bottle of the restaurant's finest wine. Katharine felt a little guilty about ordering a meal that was so expensive, but Randy had insisted that she do so and she didn't want to hurt his feelings.

Their server took their menus and they were left alone together. Katharine looked around the restaurant and then smiled at him. "I like it here," she said.

"It's one of my favorite places to go in the city," Randy confessed. "My apartment is actually pretty close by."

That didn't surprise Katharine in the least. The bistro was in one of the upper districts of Manhattan, which was exactly where she suspected Randy lived. "How long have you lived in New York?" she asked, certain that he was not native to the city.

"About six months," Randy told her. "I was born and raised in St. Louis but I've always loved it here. I travel a lot and it's easier for me to catch a flight out of these airports than the ones back home. What about you? Were you born in the city?"

She shook her head. "I moved out here a couple of years ago to go to NYU . I actually grew up in California, about an hour outside of Los Angeles."

"And you came all the way out here to go to school?" he questioned in disbelief. "That's really far away."

Katharine shrugged her shoulders. "I always dreamed of going to NYU, and there was nothing holding me back in California. I needed a change of scenery, which I'm guessing is part of the reason why you moved here as well."

Once again Katharine was able to figure out what he was holding back without him saying a damn word. It was like she had ESP or something. She had said something that piqued his curiosity, however. There was nothing holding her back in California? Even though Randy had chosen to relocate to the Big Apple, he still visited St. Louis frequently so he could see his parents. Didn't Katharine have family or friends back where she grew up?

He was about to ask her but was interrupted by their server returning with their bottle of wine. Two glasses were poured for them and then they were left alone again.

"I feel like we should toast or something," Katharine giggled.

Randy raised his glass. "How about to new friendships?"

She raised her glass as well. "To new friendships."

They clinked their glasses together and each took a sip. A pleased smile spread across Katharine's lips as the bubbly liquid slid down her throat, which didn't go unnoticed by Randy. "Do you like it?" he asked with a smile.

She merely nodded in reply. "This is the best wine I have ever tasted."

He winked at her. "Only the best for you, my dear." Randy knew he was laying the charm on thick but he couldn't help it. He was a flirt by nature and Katharine's beauty and personality brought it out of him in spite of his best efforts to clamp down on it. They had known each other for all of one week, but Randy didn't need to make a lifelong friendship with a girl in order to know that he wanted to be with her…to allow himself to get lost inside of her…to hear her crying out his name as he brought her to bliss…

He had to get a hold of himself. Katharine was NOT that kind of girl, regardless of the fact that he was having impure thoughts about her while she sat across from him with that bright smile that never seemed to leave her face. While he was sincere in liking her for the fact that she didn't know who he was and treated him as a friend, Randy was still a red-blooded male and he would be blind not to think such things about her.

Katharine took another sip of her drink as a comfortable silence fell over both of them. She knew Randy was flirting and she was choosing to ignore it once again. It was a big enough step for her to throw caution to the wind and go out to dinner with him; there was no way she was going to give in to anything else…even if he was handsome…and had the bluest eyes she had ever seen…

Katharine came crashing back to earth when she noticed a couple of young and very attractive women eyeing Randy from a table across the way. No doubt it was a common occurrence for women to throw themselves at him and that was all she needed to see in order to regain control of her senses. They were the type of women that she would have expected to see him with: wealthy, glamorous, and put together, the kind of women who knew how to give a man a good time. She knew she was far from any of those things and though Randy didn't seem to care, Katharine couldn't deny the fact that she did. She was just a waitress, a college student who was trying to turn her dreams into reality. She was a long way off from being anything more.

It was time to turn the conversation in her favor, back to a topic that she was more comfortable talking about. That way she could ignore her insecurities and focus on getting to know her new friend. "So how is the job treating you?" she asked. "Any new and interesting developments?"

Randy chuckled and Katharine could tell that something had happened in the time that had passed between their first meeting. "I take it that's a yes?"

"That's a definite yes," he replied as his expression turned serious. "Though I doubt any of it will dispel that image you have of me being a mobster."

"That's alright since I've decided that you will indeed be a mobster in the story I'm writing," she joked in an attempt to lighten the mood that had suddenly become dark at the mention of his job. "And I'll be on my best behavior in case you really are a character straight out of 'The Godfather.' Go ahead and tell me what happened."

Randy leaned forward and locked eyes with her. He already knew that Katharine was a good listener, but the intensity in her eyes made him feel as if nothing could distract her from hearing what he had to say. There hadn't been many people in his life who listened to him so intently and it caused a warm and comfortable feeling to rise up inside of him, like he was meant to be telling her his life story.

"I decided to do what you suggested and stand up for myself," he began. "Unfortunately, I did not do it in the way that I should have."

She bit her lip. "What did you do, Randy?" She hated to think that he had done something horrible based on the advice that she had given him.

No sense in beating around the bush. "I brawled with a co-worker who is pretty influential with the boss," he confessed. "And I got the shit kicked out of me."

He got in a fight? Concern immediately washed over Katharine and she leaned forward as well. "You don't look beat up," she commented. "What did he do to you?"

Randy gave her one of his signature smirks. "I'm covering pretty well. As for what he did to me, let's just say he beat me pretty badly. I did get him back, though, but the rest of the boys kept me from knocking him around too much.

"So after our scuffle," he continued. "I was called to visit my boss, who proceeded to suspend me from work for sixty days. I now have to undergo anger management classes and get my attitude adjusted or I'll be out of a job."

Her eyes widened. "Suspended? Randy, just what in the hell do you do for a living?"

He took a sip of his wine, not wanting to answer that question just yet. He didn't want his past mistakes and in-ring persona to tarnish whatever image of him that Katharine had. What if he told her he was a professional wrestler and she "googled" him as soon as their dinner was over? What would she think of some of the trash that had been written about him online?

Randy gave her one of his signature cocky grins. "Exactly what you think. I'm in the mob."

Katharine let out a frustrated sigh. Their jokes and banter regarding his job had been funny at first, but now it was beginning to get under her skin. "Stop it, Randy," she hissed. "You told me you weren't a mobster, but what am I supposed to think right now? How can I be your friend and help you out if you don't tell me what you really do for a living?"

Randy knew he should tell her; after all, he was proud of his job and it wasn't that big of a deal. He just didn't want to see that look of disappointment in Katharine's eyes when she realized that he fell short of the poised image that he cultivated. Unless…

"Alright, I'll tell you what my job really is," he said slyly. "But there's a catch. You have to tell me something personal about yourself."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "And why should I do that?"

"Because how am I supposed to get to know you and be your friend if you don't?" he answered. "Besides, it doesn't have to be some deep dark secret, just something that is special to you."

Katharine realized he had turned the tables on her and she was stuck. He had used her own words to manipulate her, and he did it so expertly that she hadn't even seen it coming. She took note of the serious expression on his face and she knew that he wasn't just being flirtatious; he really wanted to know about her. The last person she had truly confided in was Kellie and would be lying if she said she wasn't afraid of getting close to people. Randy liked her so far; she didn't want to tell him anything that would make him change his mind.

There was no otehr way to find out what he did for a living, and her curiosity was getting the best of her. She took a deep breath and made her decision. "Okay, but you have to promise me that you'll tell me the truth about your job. These mobster jokes are getting old."

He held up his fingers. "Scout's honor, even though I was never a boy scout. You go first."

Katharine nervously drummed her fingers on the table. She didn't want to reveal what she was about to say but she knew that if she didn't tell him something semi-personal he would never open up to her.

"I've only ever had one serious boyfriend in my whole life," she confessed quietly. "And the majority of the guys that I've dated have been the epitome of assholes. There, now you know something so go ahead and tell me your job."

Randy leaned forward again, his blue eyes wide with disbelief. "Wait a minute," he cut in. "You're telling me that a girl who is as beautiful and sweet as you has only been in one serious relationship?"

She nodded. "That's exactly what I said. Most of the guys I dated were only interested in sex and when I refused to put out on the first date they left me high and dry." Katharine hoped he got the hidden warning in her story; she didn't want there to be any miscommunication between the two of them. There was no way she was going to sleep with him tonight, no matter how expensive the dinner was.

Randy immediately felt guilty about thinking about Katharine in such a sexual way, but he was consoled by the fact that he had no intentions of acting on those thoughts. He couldn't believe that all of the guys that she had dated had bailed just because of sex. Then again, hadn't he done that on more than one occasion? Randy knew he wasn't in the position to be judging anyone but this was about Katharine. She was better than that and the losers she had dated had missed out on a great girl.

"I think you're better off without them," he said softly in a sincere voice. "You don't want a guy who is only interested in sex. You deserve so much more."

Katharine leaned forward and raised an eyebrow at him. "The same goes for you, by the way. You deserve a girl who thinks you're more than just a great lay." She suddenly realized what she had said and her cheeks turned a deep shade of red. "I mean…I don't know that…I was just…"

"It's okay," he chuckled. "I know exactly what you meant and I appreciate it."

Katharine smiled in reply. "Okay, so we have sufficiently analyzed my confession. Now it's time to find out what you do for a living. Spill."

The moment of truth. Katharine's reaction was going to determine everything about their friendship. He hoped that it wouldn't matter to her because that would mean that he had been wrong about her. He didn't want to be wrong about her.

"Katharine," he said slowly. "I'm a professional wrestler."

* * *

And it's a cliff-hanger! Stay tuned for what happens next!


	7. A Clue

Yay, it's new chapter time! I'm sorry for the wait, but it looks as if I'm only going to have time to update about once a week right now. It's the mid-semester crunch and right now I'm working in schools for my teaching degree so it's taking up a lot of my time. Never fear, though, writing this story is my relaxation so there is always more to come!

Once again, thank you for all of the hits and reviews...I hope you enjoy what is coming ahead! This chapter is a bit of a bridge between the beginning of Randy/Kat's friendship and their future...whatever that may be!

A quick note...I don't remember all of the details of what was going on around the time that Randy was suspended, so I ask that you suspend reality a bit and if something is inaccurate just ignore it. It works for the purpose of this story.

Disclaim...

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* * *

Chapter Seven: A Clue _

"Lonely and trapped by the world of…professional wrestling? No, that's not going to work," Katharine said to herself as she deleted the sentence staring back at her on Microsoft Word. She drummed her fingers on the desk and pursed her lips together in thought. She needed a hook, something to jump out at the reader make him or her continue reading her piece. Unfortunately, that last sentence was not going to do the trick so she needed to start over.

"Why can't you be a mobster, Randy?" she muttered to herself. "At least then I would know what I was writing about!"

Katharine had decided that Randy was indeed going to be the inspiration for her story, and not because he had joked around with her about it during their first meeting. There was something about him that she couldn't quite put her finger on, but whatever it was she felt like they were connected. They were so different and yet Katharine could relate to him in a way that she had never been able to with others. It was frightening to think about so most of the time she pushed it to the back of her mind. She didn't want to try and decipher the reason why she felt herself growing attached to Randy Orton…why she was beginning to feel like she needed him in her life.

It felt right to be writing her piece about him. Based on what he had told her there was a lot there for her to work with, and she knew there was even more based on what she gathered from his expressions and his eyes. Those baby blues of his were more telling than words could ever be. In the few weeks that she had known him, Katharine had come to discover that his eyes revealed things that he didn't want to say out loud. She remembered the way he had looked at her when they were at lunch and he had told her his true profession. Though his tone was proud and confident, it was clear from the way that he was staring at her that Randy was afraid of her reaction. It was almost as if he worried she would think less of him.

As if that would ever be possible. Katharine could still remember the conversation that ensued following his confession as if it were yesterday, when in reality it had been two weeks ago…

_"Katharine," Randy said quietly after a moment of silence. "Say something."_

_Katharine was afraid of saying anything because she didn't want to look stupid. She knew almost nothing about professional wrestlers, just that they did crazy things like jumping from ladders and breaking tables with their bodies. The problem that she was currently faced with was not what Randy's job was, but why he wouldn't tell her about it. Why would someone who had obviously made a good life for himself in that career be ashamed of talking about it?_

_"I didn't know how you would react," Randy said suddenly, as if he was reading her thoughts. "I didn't want to tell you and have you suddenly think I'm some dumb meathead who lacks intelligence." Granted, that was only part of the reason why he hadn't told her the truth but she didn't have to know that._

_Katharine bit her lip, unsure of whether or not she should believe him. His mouth was saying one thing but his eyes were telling her another. She had become very good at reading people over the years and there was a sense of insecurity about him that wouldn't be there if all he was concerned with was keeping her from thinking of him as a dumb jock. There was more to this than met the eye and she was going to find out what it was._

_"Well you didn't have to worry about that," she said finally. "I would never think of you as a dumb jock. Honestly, I know practically nothing about wrestling so how could I make a judgment?"_

_"That doesn't stop most people," he muttered as his gaze dropped, his eyes desperately averting her probing chocolate depths._

_Katharine leaned forward. "I'm not most people," she stated in a tone that allowed for no arguments, causing Randy's head to snap up. Their eyes locked again and he smiled a bit, knowing that she was right._

_"So I'm guessing it's been a very successful career for you," she pressed, looking for something more to go on._

_Randy nodded. "More than I ever thought possible. I was the youngest World Heavyweight Champion in wrestling history. I've headlined wrestling shows and done the press circuit. I've done it all."_

_"Then answer me something."_

_Randy knew in that one instant that he would tell Katharine anything that she wanted to hear. The way she was looking at him, as if she wanted to really understand him, would have brought him to tears if he was not a stronger man. As it was he felt his emotions rising inside of him, the desire to have a true friend overwhelming him. Maybe he didn't have to be alone. Maybe he could let someone in after all. Someone like Katharine._

_"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" she asked softly._

_Randy let out a sigh. He could make up some macho excuse as to why he kept quiet but he knew that wasn't going to cut it with Katharine. To be honest, he wanted her to know the truth. He needed to trust someone; otherwise, he was going to go crazy from being lost inside of himself. He just didn't know how to find the words._

_He looked into her eyes, so trusting and pure, and he knew that she would guide him. She would press and probe until he had confessed his inner fears and only then would she let it be. He put his faith in her and decided to speak from his heart, from the quiet region of his soul that he had long closed off to the rest of the world._

_"I was afraid," he whispered. "I've done some things that I'm not proud of, Katharine, and when we met I was in a very low place. I still am, but that night in the restaurant I was ready to go off the deep end. Work had been stressful and I was losing left and right, and I just didn't know what to do anymore. Then you came in with your bright smile and I forgot about it all for one hour. I can't tell you when the last time was that I had a real conversation with someone who didn't care if I was Randy Orton or a bum who lived in the subway. I didn't want to lose that, but it always happens when I tell someone what I do for a living. Suddenly they treat me differently and pretty soon it's all about what I can do for them."_

_Silence hovered in the air between them and Randy could not believe that he had just confessed all of that. There was so much more there than even he had realized. It wasn't about Katharine "googling' him or being impressed by his wealth. His reluctance sprang from the fact that he didn't know who he was anymore outside of his Legend Killer character. He had lost the part of him that enjoyed the simple things in life, and spending time with Katharine brought it back. It didn't matter that they had only seen in each other twice; both times she had been able to do it and he didn't want to let that go._

_He looked so lost, so fragile, that Katharine didn't know what to do. She wasn't sure what the right way was to comfort someone who was obviously in such pain, so she did the only thing she could think of. She reached her hand out and grasped his in her own. Their skin melted together on contact, his large and masculine fingers intertwining with her delicate and feminine ones. Randy looked at her with surprise but she ignored it. She pressed her warmth upon him, as if she was physically giving him her assurance that everything would be all right._

_"You're a special person, Randy," she said quietly while gazing deep inside of him. "And I can promise you that I would never treat you in such a way. I don't care if you're the champion or the person who cleans the arenas. I'm a college student who has next to nothing right now, so I know that money is not important. It doesn't make who you are unless you let it. When I think of you, I won't be thinking of Randy Orton, the professional wrestler. I'll be thinking of Randy Orton, the person that I would like to consider my friend."_

_Randy squeezed her hand and allowed a small smile to escape from his lips. "Thank you," he whispered, afraid to speak any louder for fear that his voice would betray the strong facade that he was hiding behind._

_"Thank you," Katharine replied. "Thank you for being my friend."_

...That conversation shaped the course that their friendship had been following in the time that had passed since their first meeting. Randy and Katharine had grown close in the short time that they had been friends, but it felt right and progressed at a natural pace. They spent a lot of time together, which mainly consisted of late night chats on the phone and Randy keeping her company at work. Right now she didn't have time for much more than that.

Though Randy was never quite as open again as he had been during their first lunch together, he dropped hints every now and then as to what was going on his life. Katharine knew that he didn't like his anger management classes and therapy sessions, and she guessed that they were forcing him to dig up some very painful memories and deal with them. She could relate to that in more ways than Randy realized, but in spite of the closeness that had developed between the two of them she couldn't bring herself to reveal more about herself. It was enough for her to have a friend to talk to, someone to help through a difficult time without rehashing her own problems and throwing herself a pity party. She had dealt with all of that a long time ago and swore to herself that she would never succumb to it again. She would never let it get her down.

Katharine pulled her long hair back into a ponytail and stared at the blinking cursor on her computer. "Come on Kat," she urged herself. "Just write."

She realized that writing itself wasn't the problem; her subject was the source of her difficulty. There was no way she could write a piece about Randy when she knew nothing about professional wrestling. She needed to learn in order to get a better sense of who he was and why he was facing these kinds of demons.

She grabbed her cell phone that was sitting on the coffee table and dialed the number that she had come to know by heart. His voice mail picked up right away and she knew that his phone was off, probably because he was sitting through one of his therapy sessions. She definitely didn't envy him there.

"Randy, it's Katharine," she said brightly after the beep. "I have a huge favor to ask of you, so give me a call back when you get this. Take care!"

She snapped her phone shut and looked back at her computer. This could provide the inspiration for her that was lacking at the moment. She just hoped that Randy was open to the idea.

* * *

When Katharine said she had a favor to ask of him, Randy thought she wanted him to keep her company while she was working or something of that nature. Instead, he was completely caught off guard by her request, something that he never in a million years thought she would ask her.

"What prompted you to do this?" he asked as he settled down on the semi-comfortable couch in the back room of Sal's.

Katharine placed her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow at him. "What? Can't a girl watch wrestling if she wants to?"

"A girl can watch wrestling whenever she wants, but I question her reasons why when that girl is you," he retorted with a smirk. "When I told you I was a wrestler you thought I did nothing more than jump off of ladders for a living."

She stared down at him from where she stood, an amused smile playing across her lips. "I thought I would investigate into your chosen profession. I don't think it's fair of me to be your friend and not know anything about what you do for a living."

Randy's smirk turned into a genuine smile. "It means a lot to me that you would choose to learn about the sport just because I'm a wrestler."

Katharine sat down beside him, her expression becoming serious. "If it's going to be too hard for you to watch this right now, given all that you're going through, I understand. I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable, or sad, or-"

"It's fine," he assured her, cutting her off before she had the chance to continue rambling. He had to admit that he had been a bit uneasy when she had first asked him to watch Raw with her tonight, but that had more to do with his pride than anything else. Randy had been avoiding talking to John, and Dave for that matter, because he didn't want to hear the inevitable lecture that would be coming. He also didn't want to see John carrying his championship belt on Raw, inadvertently rubbing it in his face that he hadn't screwed up and blown his chances like Randy had. He knew that John would never intentionally do that to him, but every time someone in the group that he came in with succeeded he felt as if it was more proof that he would never get back what he once had.

He had to bite the bullet and watch wrestling at some point, though. He needed to know what was going on for when it came time for him to return, and at least he had something to distract him by watching it with Katharine. He would focus his attention on explaining the storylines and moves to her and try to ignore the politics surrounding it.

Randy knew deep down that he would be distracted by Katharine herself as well. They had become very close as of late and he valued their friendship deeply, but that didn't mean that he still didn't notice just how beautiful she was. In fact, it seemed as if that fact became more apparent every time he saw her. Even tonight, when she swore she looked like garbage because of her trying day, he couldn't find one flaw in her appearance. Though she was dressed simply in baby t-shirt and ripped jeans, Randy found that he liked her better looking like that than any woman dressed up in order to get his attention. He liked that Katharine didn't try to be something she wasn't, nor did she try to draw attention to herself. She would blend into the crowd to most people, but to Randy she would always stand out.

"Randy?" Katharine quietly said his name and waved her hand over his eyes.

He blinked and looked over at her. "Sorry, I spaced out there," he apologized.

"It's okay," she replied. "I'd let you stay in la-la land, but the show is starting and I'm lost already. There's an old man in a business suit who walks really funny and another guy with long hair and a sledgehammer who looks like he could kill me on the show right now."

Randy laughed at her descriptions of Vince McMahon and Triple H. "Alright, let's get your lesson underway."

He began to explain all of the stories and who the wrestlers were, and Katharine found herself fascinated by it all. It was entertainment with storylines and competitions, along with athletes who looked as if they could double for stuntmen. It only took a few minutes for Randy to get into it and she watched as his eyes lit up. It was clear to her that this was his passion and he would get it back, no matter what may have happened to take it away from him at the moment.

There were times when she stopped listening to what Randy was telling her and focused more on his reactions to all of it. Watching the desire in his eyes gave her ideas for her story, and she was slowly beginning to understand how wrestling worked. Her creative genius was working in full force and her mind's eye began to visualize various plots and trials that she could place Randy in.

She was stunned at seeing Viscera, "The World's Largest Love Machine," and amazed at watching Trish Stratus wrestling as well as some of the men. Randy pointed out John Cena to her, the current WWE Champion, and mentioned that he was his friend. Katharine stole a glance at Randy while John was wrestling and there was a touch of wistfulness in his eyes. She could tell that he was envious of John, not only for all that he had but also because he hadn't done anything to mess up his career. Katharine didn't know much about wrestling, but she had to believe that Randy's career was far from over; he had told her that his boss said he had a bright future ahead of him if he could get his act together. However, she knew that no one could make him shape up, for that was something that had to come from within.

Katharine laughed at the idiocy and sheer villainy of John's challenger for the WWE Championship, a formidable character by the name of Edge. What interested her most about that storyline, though, was the woman that Randy called Lita, Edge's valet and possible real-life girlfriend. While the two men bickered back and forth, Katharine studied her. Something was wrong there, something that she couldn't quite put her finger on.

Randy noticed that Katharine had grown quiet and he wasn't sure why. "What's the matter?" he asked.

"How well do you know Lita?" she questioned in reply, her eyes never leaving the television set.

He shrugged his shoulders. "Not too well. I wrestle on the other show but I know her through Edge, or Adam as we usually call him. Why do you ask?"

Katharine sat back and turned so that she was completely facing Randy. "Something is off with her," she answered ominously. "I can just tell."

"Well she's had a pretty shitty year," Randy replied, recalling the sordid details of Amy's tumultuous love life. "But last I knew she was doing well."

She glanced back at the television and bit her lip. "She looks very thin to me," Katharine said finally. "You wouldn't happen to know if she has an eating disorder, do you?"

Katharine turned and looked at Randy expectantly, desperately waiting for an answer. He wished nothing more at that moment than to give her a truthful reply, but the fact of the matter was that he had none for her. He didn't know much about Amy, and he and Adam didn't keep in touch as much as they used to.

"I don't know," he told her honestly. "Amy, the name she usually goes by, is a tough girl and I doubt she does. There's no way she could wrestle if she messed with her body like that."

Katharine nodded. "Yeah, I'm sure you're right. It's just that I was completely taken aback when I saw her because she looks so different from Trish." A small smile formed on her face. "Call it women's intuition or something like that."

They each turned back to the television, but Randy's mind was no longer focused on the show. Instead, he was more concerned with why Katharine would think that about Amy. There had been something in her eyes for the first time that revealed her inner secrets. There was concern, worry… and fear there, almost as if she knew firsthand what Amy would be going through if she was indeed suffering from an eating disorder.

This was puzzling to Randy and he wanted an answer, but if there was anything that he had learned about Katharine it was that she couldn't be pushed into talking. If she had inner secrets that she wanted him to know about, then she would tell him when the time was right for her. Until then, he would do his best to piece together the bits of information that he did know about her.

The rest of the evening passed in a fairly uneventful way, and when the show was over Randy offered to give her a ride home. He expertly dodged New York traffic and pulled up in front of an apartment building around the corner from Sal's. It was a typical New York City building that clearly housed apartments that were less expensive than the one that he himself lived in. They said their goodbyes to each other and he watched as Katharine let herself inside the main door, making sure that she got inside all right.

Though the rest of their conversation had been bright, Randy was still hung up on the discussion that they had had about Amy. He had wanted to know more about Katharine since the day he met her but hadn't wanted to push. Instead of telling him about herself outright, it seemed as if she was unintentionally dropping clues about her life instead. Someone that she had been close to must have suffered from an eating disorder; otherwise, how else would she pick up on something like that?

One thing was for sure, he was going to call Adam in the morning and tell him to be on the lookout for something like that going on with Amy. If she was right then they needed to act fast to help her. As for Katharine, Randy was determined to put the pieces of the puzzle together to discover the whole picture of her life. She was too important to him for Randy to allow himself to be left in the dark for long, and this presented a new kind of challenge for him. Randy Orton liked challenges.

* * *

Quick final notes: I do not think Amy/Lita has an eating disorder...I am only using it for the purposes of this story:) 


	8. Just Once

I was able to get another chapter written this weekend! It's a little short by my standards but I think you'll like it...

Thanks for the reviews! Disclaimers and all that good stuff, now on with the story!_

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Chapter Eight: Just Once

Randy did not want to be in therapy, and the only reason he was sitting through this painful session was because his job depended on it. It wasn't painful in the bare your soul, get in touch with your feelings kind of way. Instead, it was painful because he was tired of listening to his therapist psychoanalyze him.

He let out a quiet sigh while the doctor rambled on and on about how his anger represented some deep-seated resentment from his childhood. According to Dr. Jamison, Randy was angry at his father for not being around when he was a child. Why did these doctors always think their patients' problems came back to the parents? He himself had no idea what actually caused his anger but he was pretty sure it had little to do with his mother and father. They had been nothing but supportive of him, even when he had made a mistake and joined the military. They stuck by him when he landed in military prison and welcomed him back with open arms.

Randy shrunk down deeper in his seat, anxiously glancing over at the clock. There was still a half an hour left. These were going to be the longest thirty minutes of his life.

"You're not listening to a word I'm saying, are you?" his doctor gently reprimanded.

Randy cleared his throat. "I'm sorry, sir, but I think it's a cop-out to blame my parents. I've always had a great relationship with them and I was never an angry child."

Dr. Jamison set his pad of paper down and leaned back in his chair. "Alright. Where do you think your anger comes from?" he asked softly.

He shrugged his shoulders. "How the hell should I know? I never used to be like this, you know. I was happy and content when I started my career, and I had already been through my share of personal hell. Military prison wasn't exactly a walk in the park."

"I'm sure it wasn't," Dr. Jamison agreed. "Are you still happy with your career?"

Randy wished he could say yes, but that would be a bold-faced lie. "Not exactly," he admitted. "But that will change when I get back."

"I'm sure it will." Dr. Jamison's expression softened, losing its unbiased and objective appearance. "I'm going to be honest with you, Randy. I don't think you will ever be happy until you face whatever it is that's causing you such anger and pain. I don't believe it has anything to do with your parents; I merely said that in order to make this conversation happen. I understand that you do not want to open yourself up, and that's okay. However, I can only help you if you allow me to, and if you want to be helped. Otherwise, these sessions are both a waste of my time and yours."

"I don't know what you want me to do!" Randy exclaimed angrily. "I don't know what anyone wants me to do! My boss sends me here thinking it will help me, but how can it when I have no idea what my problem is? I have a great life: lots of money, women whenever I want them, and a career that allows me to live out my dream. So tell me Doctor, why am I so miserable?"

Randy's last question reverberated off the walls of Dr. Jamison's office and both sat in a contemplative silence. "When did you find yourself becoming unhappy?" the doctor asked after a moment. "At what point in your career did you lose your happiness?"

Randy thought about that, unable to answer the question right away. When did it happen? It wasn't while he was with Evolution; he had a great time with them and learned so much about the business. It wasn't when he won his championship; that was the happiest he had ever been in his career and it proved that he was the best. He didn't even mind when he lost the title because he knew that the plan was for him to get it back. Something changed in the months that followed his title loss, however, and he remembered feeling bitter and angry that the company seemed to be pushing Dave into his spotlight. It wasn't that he was upset with Dave, he just felt as if he was being forgotten.

That had to be it. Randy remembered how he felt at the time, so insecure and shaken that the company had lost faith in him. It made him question his ability as a wrestler and future champion of World Wrestling Entertainment. The bitterness that he felt slowly began to overtake him and he lashed out at everyone close to him. He began to have sex with more women than usual and discarded them as if they were nothing. He threw tantrums backstage and fought with coworkers. He popped off at the fans when there was no reason for him to do so. In essence, he started down the destructive path that he now found himself journeying along.

"Do you know the answer to that, Randy?" Dr. Jamison pressed.

Randy looked up at him, his face tight with emotion. "The company lost faith in me," he admitted slowly. The boss took my title run away from me and I took it personally instead of seeing that it was a business decision. That was about a year and a half ago, and now I find myself here."

Dr. Jamison nodded. "Okay son, now we have a place to start."

* * *

Katharine liked nothing more than when Sal's was nearing closing time and there were very few customers around. Normally she used the chance to get some homework done, but not tonight. She had vigorously thrown herself into writing her story about Randy and it was coming along beautifully. The words came pouring out of her so easily, like she was meant to write a story about him.

She sat in a booth in the back corner of the restaurant, her back resting against the wall and her knees pulled up to her chest. She reread what she had written so far in her notebook and smiled to herself. Much of her story was based on Randy's real life, things that he had shared with her and things that she had picked up on without him knowing. The character in her story was dealing with insecurities that she knew Randy faced, but refused to talk about. She had also made it a point to watch wrestling every time it was on, including Smackdown, and she was beginning to pick up on how the business worked. It was very demanding and it seemed as if it would be easy to fail.

Katharine had a feeling that Randy felt like a failure right now. He still had yet to tell her why he was suspended, but she knew it had come about because something huge went down. She wanted to know what because she was sure it was key to understanding him, but she refused to push. Randy would tell her in his own good time.

He was a month into his suspension and most of his time was spent with her. While Katharine loved every minute that she got to be with Randy, she wondered if it was really healthy for him to shut the rest of the world out like this. His family had to be worried about him, not to mention the friends that he had mentioned to her before. She knew he wasn't returning any of their phone calls and she had a feeling it was because he was still ashamed of whatever had happened. What Randy Orton needed was someone to believe in him, and Katharine was determined to be that person. He was a good man, someone worth caring about, and she refused to let him flounder on his own.

Katharine was snapped out of her quiet reverie by the door opening. She lifted her head and saw Randy staggering inside the restaurant, a dopey smile plastered across his face. She slid out of the booth and stood up with a sinking feeling. "Randy?"

"Hi Kath…Kath…Katharine," he greeted her with a stutter. He stumbled over to her and stood close enough to her that she could smell the alcohol on his breath.

"Oh Randy," she said softly. "How much did you have to drink?"

He waved his hand and collapsed into the booth. "I can hold my liquor," he answered by slurring his words together, making it difficult for Katharine to understand him. "I…I wanted to come see you. You're pretty."

Katharine did her best to bite back a smile. While she appreciated the compliment, she knew Randy would be mortified if he found out he had said that when he sobered up. "Thank you. Did something happen that made you want to get drunk, Randy? In the time that I've known you I've never seen you drunk before."

He laughed, a boisterous laugh that was loud enough to shake the entire room. "You don't know me at all, Katharine," he retorted. "I get drunk a lot, and then I usually have sex with a hot chick. It's what I do."

The stuttering and slurring of words told her that he wouldn't remember much, if anything, about this conversation in the morning. "Well you're not going to do that tonight," she said sternly.

Randy laughed again, even louder than the last time. "And who's going to stop me?" he taunted. "Unless you're going to have sex with me Katharine, I don't think there's anything you can do to keep me from calling up one of my lady friends and banging the shit out of her."

Katharine rolled her eyes, knowing that this was Randy's pain talking. Even if he was a playboy at times or got drunk more than he should, he did it to mask the hurt that he felt. She didn't know what caused him to ache so badly inside, but she hated whomever had made him to feel this way. She wasn't going to let him go through this alone. He had her now.

"What is going on here?"

Katharine whirled around and saw her boss standing behind the counter. Denny was used to seeing Randy around but she doubted he would appreciate having a drunk shouting in his restaurant. "Nothing Denny," she replied. "Randy's not feeling well, so I'm going to take him home. Do you mind if I leave a little early?"

"Go ahead Katharine," he answered kindly. "I think I can handle closing by myself for one night." Denny had a soft spot for Katharine and treated her with fatherly concern. He thought she worked too much so he always took any opportunity presented to him to get Katharine out of the restaurant.

She smiled gratefully at him and began to shove her books in her bag. Randy watched her warily, his drunken eyes wide and red. "What are you doing?" he demanded.

"Getting you out of here," she informed him. "Just please tell me you haven't been driving."

He shook his head so fast that it looked as if it was going to turn all the way around. "Never. I walked the whole way. Aren't you proud?"

"Very proud." Katharine pulled him to his feet and he slumped against her, his drunken frame nearly dwarfing her. "Where is your car parked?"

"In front of the bar around the corner," he chuckled. "I slummed it tonight. No high class bars for me."

Katharine felt a quick sting of hurt at that statement, but she pushed it away. As much as she liked to forget it, they were very different and this area of New York City was like a slum compared to where Randy was used to living. "Okay, then we'll walk to your car and I'll drive you home. Come on."

She led him outside and the cool night air was like a shock to Randy's system. He began to laugh uncontrollable as they moved down the sidewalk. Katharine expertly dodged people, who paid them no attention.

"This is funny," he chuckled. "You're taking care of me."

"Would you rather be stranded or passed out on the sidewalk?" she retorted.

Randy stopped moving and she spun around to face him. "What are you doing?" she demanded.

He merely gazed at her in reply. The night was cool and she shivered into the sweatshirt that she was wearing. The wind blew through her long hair and she watched as Randy took note of it all. The way he was staring at her…it had been a long time since someone had looked at her that way. She began to blush and suddenly one of Randy's hands was on her cheek, pressing against the warmth that had gathered there.

He may have been drunk, but Randy appeared to know exactly what he wanted. He gazed at her with such emotion, such conviction, that Katharine lost all sense of control. She needed to stop this, to get him to back off; otherwise, they might both regret what could happen while he was inebriated.

"Randy," she whispered. "Not like this."

"Just once," he answered quietly. "I want to know what it's like to kiss you. Just once."

He leaned in and Katharine froze in place, her mind screaming to make Randy stop but her heart wanting to feel his lips on hers. She didn't want to take advantage of him in his condition, but one kiss wouldn't hurt. Truth be told, she wanted that kiss.

Randy brushed her lips softly and she closed her eyes, allowing the sensation to wash over her. Alcohol escaped from his breath but it suddenly smelled sweet. He was so tender that she could only imagine what his kiss would be like when he was sober. He began slowly, teasing her lips with his and making her want more. His tongue slipped out it began to trace her lips, gently prodding her to open for him. Katharine obliged and allowed him to take over, to explore inside her mouth. She pressed her body closer to him and suddenly his arms were around her, clinging to her lower back and cleaving her to him. She ran her hands up and down his arms, so strong and muscular beneath her touch. She could feel his hardness pressing against her and she briefly wondered what it would be like to give herself to him. Desire coursed through her veins and in that moment she would have given him anything. He had that affect on her.

But it was one kiss, something that she had obliged him with and it had to end. Randy knew it, too, and they slowly pulled apart, their bodies breaking the connection that had formed between them. They stared at each other, both breathing heavily and trying to make sense of what happened.

"Just once," he whispered again.

Katharine nodded in response and smiled at him. "Just once." She allowed him to lean on her again and they continued on their way to his car.


	9. Revelations

Yay, a new chapter!!!! I'm soooo sorry that I haven't posted this sooner...it took quite awhile for me to get this chapter complete and satisfactory. Thank you guys for being so patient and for all of your reviews...I hope you enjoy this nice long update!

Some info is revealed about Katharine in this chapter...I just want to preface it by stating that it is not my intention to make every bad thing in the world happen to her. I merely want to explore the possible ramifications of a painful situation that unfortunately occurs all too often. If anyone is offended then I apologize and ask that you stop reading.

Now that all of that is out of the way...on with the good stuff! Disclaimer..._

* * *

_

Chapter Nine: Revelations

When Katharine met Randy for the first time, she never in a million years thought she would be keeping watch over him while he lay passed out in his bed like a blithering drunk. That was exactly what she was doing at the moment, however, and the strange thing was that she had chosen to do so. Randy was too out of it to ask her to do anything coherently, and she was actually afraid to leave him alone over night. She was sure he had slept off many drunken binges just fine, but that was before he had met her. He should have known that things would be different now that they were friends.

Getting him home had been no easy task because a drunken Randy Orton was more stubborn than a sober one. He protested as she got him in the car and complained of her driving all the way back to his apartment. He was barely able to remember where he lived: a beautiful apartment complex in upper Manhattan. If Katharine hadn't been so concerned with getting him inside she would have been in awe of the place.

Randy shouted, whined, babbled, and giggled like a school girl up to the tenth floor where his apartment was. A fairly good sized place for a New York City apartment, it was nicer than anything Katharine had ever seen before. Randy had made a bee-line for his liquor upon entering his home, but Katharine easily snatched it away from him. There was no way he could fight her in his inebriated state and even he knew it. She remembered him laughing at the irony and then staggering into his bedroom, closing the door behind him.

Katharine was left standing in the middle of his apartment with a bottle of vodka in one hand and Randy's house keys in the other. "What the hell do I do now?" she wondered out loud.

The answer was soon given to her in the form of a loud thudding noise coming from Randy's bedroom. She quickly set the vodka and keys down and sprinted towards the door, pushing it open as fast as she could. She expected to see furniture turned over on the ground, but instead she merely saw Randy sitting on his behind and laughing like an idiot. "I fell!" he slurred through irrepressible giggles.

Katharine rolled her eyes and did her best to help him up. "Yes you did," she replied in a patronizing tone. "I think we should get you to bed before you hurt yourself."

"You're pretty," was the only response that she received. Randy allowed her to help him over to his bed and collapsed on it, still fully clothed. "And you kiss good," he added as he grinned at her.

"Thanks Randy." Katharine pushed him into the middle of the bed and pulled his shoes off for him, the only article of clothing that she was willing to take off of him. "Try and get some sleep because you're going to have one massive hangover tomorrow."

Randy closed his eyes and gave one final chuckle. "Hangovers are for wimps," he muttered before succumbing to his drunken stupor.

Katharine sighed and watched as his breathing slowed down, becoming much more regular. His features relaxed and it didn't take long for him to fall into a deep sleep. She knew she should leave now since there really was no reason for her to stay, but for some reason she couldn't bring herself to do so. What if he had gotten himself so drunk that something bad happened to him during the night? She didn't want to go and leave him defenseless.

It was completely out of character for her to stay, but that seemed to be describing Katharine a lot lately. She had allowed herself to become close to Randy when normally she shut others out of her life. She now felt tied to him, as if her existence was inexplicably entangled with his, and as a result she had allowed him to kiss her.

"Why did you let him kiss you?" she wondered out loud to herself as she watched Randy sleep. They both may have wanted it, but Randy had been drunk and she shouldn't have allowed him to do it. If he couldn't think for himself then it was her responsibility to herself to do so for him. And what about her promise to herself that she would mend what was broken inside of her before letting another man in? She was far from healed and yet she had kissed him, wanted him to do it. There was no way she could protect herself if she let Randy in before she was ready.

Katharine sat down in the comfortable chair across from Randy's bed and pulled her knees up to her chest. She wished with all of her heart that she was different person, someone who was ready to fall head over heels in love with Randy Orton without any inhibitions, but that was not the path destiny had chosen for her. It seemed as if she had been born into suffering and she had been doing quite well with it until Randy came along, making her want to break down every defense mechanism that she had built around her to cope.

Her family life had been less than ideal, but Katharine coped by throwing herself into her school work in hopes of getting out of town and starting a life of her own elsewhere. She loved to write and had dreamed of going to NYU for as long as she could remember. That dream almost came crashing down around her, however, when she was sixteen. It was a memory that Katharine didn't like to think about much, but it had affected everything about her life ever since.

It was the homecoming game and one of her friends was throwing a party after the game. She normally didn't go to parties but she decided to give it a try since there was nothing better than a mother passed out from alcohol waiting for her at home. What Katharine hadn't counted on were some of the guys from school being there, guys that she considered to be assholes. They proved their reputation right that night.

A few stray tears leaked out of her eyes and Katharine drew in a deep breath. All of the therapy in the world couldn't make her forget what happened that night, and it was the cause of the many problems that she experienced later on. A bout with depression nearly cost Katharine her dream of getting out of California and making it to NYU, but she managed to pull herself out of it with therapy. It couldn't make her forget but it helped her cope. Once she reached New York City, however, the pressures of college life made her alter her coping mechanisms and she turned to controlling her appetite. It was as if she was being haunted by that night when she was sixteen and the only way she could control it was through food. This time she wasn't alone, though, and Kellie helped her get through it. In fact, Kellie was the one who got her to speak with Health Services on campus about a year ago. It took some time, but Katharine eventually realized she had a problem and spent the past summer in a group therapy program for young women who suffered from eating disorders.

Her life was finally back on track for the first time in years, and that was when she vowed to fully heal herself before letting someone new in. That all changed when Randy Orton literally walked into her life and slowly turned everything upside down. He showed her that despite all that had happened to her, there were people out there who were more broken inside than she was. At least she was coming out of her inner darkness; Randy seemed to be swallowed up by it when they first met. Though she hadn't wanted to admit it back when they first met, she had always been drawn to him and the desire to help him was overwhelmingly powerful. It was the reason she had picked up the phone that day and called him. That desire made her go to lunch with him and inspired her to write about his life for her entrance story. It was the reason she kissed him tonight.

Katharine wished with all of her heart that she could confide in Randy, that she could share her story with him and have him tell her that everything would be okay. As much as she wanted to do it, she knew that no one could make it better for her and it was something she had to struggle with on her own. There was a chance that she could save Randy from heading down the same road that she had been on, though. She doubted that he would develop an eating disorder, but by getting hopelessly drunk tonight he showed that he was behaving in his own self-destructive manner. She didn't want him to hit rock bottom like she had.

Katharine was pulled out of her thoughts by Randy moaning in his sleep. A look of worry crossed over his features and she walked over to the side of his bed. Apparently he wasn't drunk enough to avoid having nightmares because his sleep looked troubled. Katharine placed a hand on his cheek and sat down on the bed beside him. "Ssh," she soothed him quietly. "I'm here, and everything's going to be okay. You're going to be okay." It was a promise that she intended to keep.

_

* * *

What the fuck? That was Randy's first coherent thought when he awoke the following morning to sunlight streaming into his bedroom and headache pounding at his temples. His head felt like it had been run over by a truck and his body was heavy. The only time he ever felt like that was after… oh no, he had definitely gotten drunk the night before._

He rubbed at his eyes that had yet to crack open and quickly tried to place what had happened. Did he go home with a girl? Did he pass out somewhere else besides home? Try as he might, Randy could not remember anything that had happened the night before. Everything was too much of a blur.

He didn't want to open his eyes, afraid of what he was going to see, but he knew he couldn't stay in limbo between sleep and consciousness forever. His eyes slowly opened and he blinked a few times to adjust to the sunlight that was causing his head to throb in the most unnatural way. When he had adjusted himself to the light, he quickly realized that he was in his own apartment, tucked snugly into his own bed. Randy looked to his side quickly and let out a sigh of relief when he didn't see anyone beside him. Apparently he hadn't been stupid enough to hook up with another random girl last night.

He couldn't shake the heaviness that enveloped his body and Randy wasn't sure why. Even when he got completely plastered it never seemed to affect him like this. What in the world had he done last night?

His eyes slowly moved downward and he recognized that he was in the same clothes as last night. That was nearly as surprising as what, or who to be more accurate, lay draped across his stomach, also fully clothed. "Katharine?" he wondered out loud at the site of her.

She didn't respond, however, and fear suddenly racked Randy's body. He slowly sat himself up and shifted her so that she was lying back on his bed. "Katharine?" he said softly. Randy lowered his head and listened for her breathing, which was coming easily and naturally. She was just in a deep sleep, and he didn't even want to consider the reason why he had been so worried that something had happened to her.

He watched her as she slept, taking note that she was still in the same clothes that she had worn the night before. She must have spent the night there and not gone home at all, but how did she get here? The last thing Randy remembered was being thoroughly pissed and broken down after therapy and heading to a bar. His memory faded after his tenth shot in ten minutes, so he must have gotten a hold of Katharine somehow over the course of the night. And she had stayed with him. Randy didn't want to think about what that meant either.

He rubbed his eyes and let out a small sigh. Having Katharine in his bed had been a fantasy of his for awhile now, but it wasn't supposed to be like this. In his fantasy, they would have made love until neither one of them could move, and then they would have done it again. She wouldn't have stayed with him out of pity and played nursemaid for his drunken ass, which was what he suspected had happened.

Well the least he could do was let her sleep. Randy carefully scooted her up so that her head was resting against his pillows and he pulled the covers up around her. It was mid-morning and he assumed that she hadn't gotten to sleep until late, which was his fault. Randy brushed a few stray locks of hair out of her face and took note of her pink lips, gently resting together in an example of slumber. He vaguely remembered kissing those lips, but that must have been a dream because there was no way Katharine would let him do that. She seemed to have an aversion to physical closeness, even though they had become good friends. He still hadn't given up on finding out the reason for that.

Randy slid out of bed and headed to the bathroom. Knowing that Katharine was just a few feet away from him in his bed was cause for a cold shower. He disappeared into the bathroom and peeled out of his clothes, which clung to his body and reeked of alcohol. That was the last time he was going on a drinking binge for awhile.

He made the shower as cold as he could possibly stand and climbed inside, letting the cool droplets rain over his body. Nothing could erase the warmth that grew inside of him at the thought that Katharine had spent the night with him. Randy wasn't very good at figuring out his feelings, but he knew that he felt something for her, something deep that he had never experienced before. It was as if she understood everything that he was going to say before he said it. He didn't have to tell her what was going on inside of his head because she already knew it.

Instead of getting completely wasted last night, he should have just gone to the restaurant and talked to Katharine about his difficult therapy session. Dr. Jamison forced him to take a good look at himself and it was painful for him to recognize just how much he had screwed up in his life. As much as he wanted to tell her what was discussed in his therapy session, he didn't know if he could find the words to explain it. It was too difficult for him to do so.

Randy's thoughts began to shift to Katharine, and he found himself thinking about all of the little things that he had come to love about her. He loved the way the corners of her mouth turned up into a smile when she was trying not to laugh. He adored the bright look in her eyes when she was happy and how earnest she was whenever she was listening to him speak. He couldn't think of one thing that he disliked about her, and if Randy was being honest with himself, he would admit that it frightened him a bit. He was falling for her hard and fast, and he didn't even realize it.

The cold shower finally reached its desired outcome and Randy wrapped a towel around his waist when he had finished. He dried off quickly and threw on some sweats before exiting the bathroom. He wasn't surprised to see that Katharine was still asleep and he smiled softly to himself. She looked so angelic, so peaceful, and it felt _right_ that she had spent the night here. It was something that he could get used to.

* * *

Instead of being woken with a start by her alarm clock, Katharine gradually drifted back to consciousness that morning. It was something that she wasn't used to and if she had been more coherent she would have realized how weird it was. For the moment, though, she simply reveled in lying back in her bed with nothing to do.

The first thought that registered in her mind was that the bed was softer than what she was used to. When did her crappy mattress turn into a fluffy cloud. She slowly opened her eyes and nearly gasped out loud when she realized she wasn't in her apartment. Where was she?

It didn't take long for her to remember that she was in Randy's apartment, and that she had stayed with him because he had been completely wasted the night before. Katharine knew that she had been sitting on the bed watching him, and at some point she must have fallen asleep herself. The only difference was that she knew she had fallen asleep on top of the covers, her head resting on Randy's stomach. Yet somehow she had ended up underneath the covers, tenderly nestled between two soft pillows. There was only one person who could have done this for her.

She looked to her left where he had been sleeping the night before but Randy was not there. He must have woken up and found her, and in his thoughtful way had let her sleep longer. Luckily for her she had the day off, a rare occurrence for her but something that she desperately needed.

Katharine slowly became aware of a delicious aroma wafting through the room, sliding past the barrier of the closed bedroom door. It smelled like eggs and pancakes, which could only mean one thing.

She climbed out of bed and stretched a little, taking a second to fix her rumpled clothes and unruly hair before quietly slipping out of the bedroom. She followed the hallway out into the kitchen where her suspicions were confirmed. Randy was standing in the kitchen finishing cooking what smelled like a delicious breakfast. He heard her quiet footsteps and turned around to see her standing in the doorway. "Good morning Sleeping Beauty," he greeted her brightly with a smile.

Katharine smiled back at him and walked over to the counter. "You cook?" she asked in a teasing tone.

Randy simply grinned at her and placed the last pancake on the plate that was piled high with them. "I have some hidden talents in the kitchen," he answered. "I thought it was the least I could do to thank you for last night. You didn't have to stay and take care of me."

She shook her head. "I wanted to. I was worried about you, Randy. I've never seen anyone that wasted before."

The pounding headache that Randy was suffering from reminded him just how much he must have drank the night before. "I'm sorry for worrying you," he apologized. "And I know it was wrong to drink so much. I just…"

His voice trailed off, almost as if he was afraid to continue. Katharine reached out and touched his arm to reassure him that she wouldn't judge him. He swallowed and averted her eyes.

"I was in a bad place last night," Randy confessed. "My therapy session sucked and I didn't want to feel anymore, so I numbed myself by getting shit-faced. It wasn't the brightest idea I've ever had."

So the therapy was what had done it to him. Katharine remembered all too well how draining it could be to open yourself up to a complete stranger and be judged. That was the last thing she wanted for Randy.

"Therapy is painful," she said quietly while Randy brought the food over to the table. "But if you work at it, it can help you."

"That's what everyone says," he replied in frustration as he turned back to her. "I was on the phone with a friend of mine this morning and he told me the same thing. Unless you've been there, you don't know how hard it actually is. I'm sick of everyone telling me how I should feel!"

A wave of butterflies rose inside of Katharine. She could confess everything to him right now, show him that they were more alike than he realized, but getting the words to come out of her mouth was easier said than done.

Katharine took a deep breath. She could be there for Randy without divulging all of her secrets. "Randy, I'm not telling you how to feel," she began patiently. "And I know how hard therapy is because I've been there."

Randy's frustrated expression softened into one of shock. "You?" he questioned, his voice barely audible.

She shoved her hands in the back pockets of her jeans and approached him. "Yeah, me. It's not something that I enjoyed going through, but it helped me figure myself out and deal with some pretty painful things. It can help you, too, if you let it."

Randy couldn't wrap his mind around the information that Katharine had just shared with him. What could she possibly have gone through that would require her to go into therapy? Discovering the answer to that was more important to him than trying to figure out his own problems.

Katharine knew that he didn't know what to say, and she hoped that her statement was going to have the desired effect on him. "Do you want to talk about what's bothering you?" she asked gently. "I've been told that I'm a good listener."

Randy chuckled a little. "You are the best listener that I've ever met. We can talk, but what I really want to know is why you were in therapy."

Panic swelled inside of Katharine but she clamped down on it. If their friendship progressed further, Randy was bound to find out what she had gone through sooner or later. At the moment she chose later, but she could still draw on her own experiences and help him.

"Let's sit down and eat this yummy breakfast that you made and we'll talk," she replied.

Randy wasted no time setting the table and bringing the food over to them. He poured them each a glass of orange juice and even pulled out Katharine's chair for her like a perfect gentleman. He was sitting across from her within minutes, waiting to hear what she had to say.

Katharine took a deep breath. "I don't want to talk about what sent me into therapy," she began. "It's just something really personal that I still struggle with."

As disappointed as Randy was, he understood and had no intentions of pushing her into confiding her deep secrets. "Okay," he answered. "But how did you deal with being in therapy and hearing someone analyze your life? The doctor doesn't even know me and he's making all of these judgments."

Katharine leaned forward and gazed directly into his eyes. "Are the judgments accurate?"

Randy didn't respond and Katharine knew that she had struck a nerve. "I'm not saying that to hurt you," she continued. "But one of the things that I learned while I was in therapy was that there were a lot of things about myself that I didn't want to face. The doctor was able to pick up on those things right away and I resisted hearing them at first, but in time I realized that she was right. If I had learned that sooner, I could have benefited from therapy much more quickly than I did."

Emotions rose inside of Randy and he felt as if he was choking, drowning in his own pain. Deep down he knew that Dr. Jamison was right: he pushed people away by hurting them before he could be hurt and he ran away from his problems. He wanted to drown his sorrows in alcohol the night before so that he wouldn't have to think about it. He wanted to fix what was wrong with himself, but in order to do that he would have to let someone in. He didn't know how to do that.

Katharine could see that Randy was torn up inside and it hurt her to see him in so much pain. She wanted nothing more than to take it away for him, if he would let her. She reached out and grasped his hand in hers, then stared deeply into his eyes. "Talk to me, Randy," she implored. "I'm right here, and I promise you I won't judge you. I'm your friend."

He shook his head. "You will hate me if I tell you everything that I have done," he replied quietly. "I'm a mess, Kat. I don't deserve a friend like you."

She emphatically shook her head. "Don't even say that. I don't think I could ever hate you."

Randy stared back at her from across the table and saw the sincerity in her eyes that shone through from her heart. Last night had shown him that he needed someone to trust and Katharine could be that person for him. He knew deep down that she would never judge him, regardless of all that he had done. He decided to take a leap of faith and confess everything to her.

"I can't promise that you're going to like what you hear," he began. "But I owe it to you to tell you everything about me, so here goes nothing."

And he began to spill forth all of his secrets. Katharine listened as Randy told her about his childhood and how he wanted so desperately to live up to the legacy that his father and grandfather had created. He explained how he had rebelled as a teenager and entered the military upon graduating high school. She learned about the struggles that he had gone through when he realized he had made a mistake and how he turned his life around. Randy told her about his first few years in wrestling and how his success began to feed into his insecurities. She heard about how he drowned himself in alcohol and women in order to numb the pain and how he lashed out at everyone in the company to make himself hurt less. The more that Randy confessed to her, the harder she began to fall for him.

A deafening silence enveloped them both after Randy had finished bearing his soul to her. He felt purged, cleansed of all of his mistakes by letting them out. He felt free for the first time in his life, but he hoped he hadn't achieved that at the expense of his friendship with Katharine.

Katharine smiled at him. "And what in all of that could possibly make me hate you? I'll tell you what: absolutely nothing."

Randy smiled back at her. "Most girls aren't that understanding."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "I'm not most girls, and I realize that you're in the process of facing all of those demons. It's a hard thing to do, but I promise you it gets better."

He sighed and collapsed against the back of his chair. "I hope so because this is mentally draining."

Katharine squeezed the hand that she was still holding. "You're going to come out of this a much stronger person, Randy, and I'll be here every step of the way. I promise."

"Thank you for staying with me last night," he whispered. "And for being my friend."

"Thank you for sharing your secrets with me," she replied. Katharine could only hope that one day she would have the strength to do what Randy had just done.


	10. Memory

I'm finally back with a new chapter! I'm so sorry that I haven't had one to post sooner, but school and real life have just been absolutely crazy for the past month and I had very little time to write. I made up for my lack of posting with a nice, long chapter for your reading pleasure that begins the next phase of Randy and Katharine's friendship/relationship. Be warned: it provides hints of something graphic that will follow very shortly, so if that kind of thing bothers you then please don't read.

Thank you to everyone who has kept with the story and who have left reviews...you guys encourage me to keep on writing! I don't anything and all that good stuff...now on with the chapter!_

* * *

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_Chapter Ten: Memory_

Over the course of the next few days, Randy tried to take Katharine's advice and focus on his therapy sessions with Dr. Jamison. They were still bringing up some very painful feelings that he had suppressed for a long time, but at least he was trying.

While he doubted that he would ever be completely comfortable with his sessions, he had motivation for pursuing it and doing the best that he could. A month into his suspension, Randy had been in contact with management and they revealed that Dr. Jamison had given glowing reports of his progress. It looked as if he would be able to return on time once the sixty days were up, causing mixed emotions inside of him. A part of him wanted nothing more than to get back out there in front of a crowd and wrestle, while the other part of him was beginning to get used to life the way it was. He wasn't sure that he could reconcile this new, peaceful attitude that he had adopted as of late with his hectic life as a wrestler.

Though the positive feedback that he had received from management made him proud, the real reason that he was able to push forward was because of Katharine. She had truly meant it when she said that she would be there every step of the way, and Randy now found himself confiding in her more than ever. He would come to see her at the restaurant after every session so they could talk. She helped him make sense of all that had transpired and he had a clearer picture of what he needed to do in order to get everything back on track.

For starters, he had to make sure he didn't get himself completely trashed anymore. Randy knew that he did really stupid things when he was drunk and that was a habit that he wanted to break. He also needed to start trusting people and not close himself off to everyone. If he did that then he might be able to regain some of the friends that he had lost in the WWE. Ultimately, he was beginning to see that there was a fine line between standing up for oneself and simply being a jerk. Most of the time he had acted like an ass, but now he recognized the difference.

Randy doubted that he would have reached these conclusions on his own if Katharine hadn't come into his life. He had often wondered before how she was able to read him so well and now he knew the reason. She identified with him because they had both been in therapy. He desperately wanted to know why she had been in therapy, but she offered no new information and it was not the kind of the thing that he could ask her outright. There was so much about Katharine that he didn't know, and though he had sworn that he would learn all of her secrets before, he was more motivated now to dig deep and actively pursue the answers that he was looking for.

He was going to start tonight if the opportunity presented itself. It was a Saturday night, and instead of going out to a club he had asked Katharine if she wanted to hang out. Randy knew that she worked so hard to pay her tuition and rent and he thought she deserved a night of fun. Though she had hesitated initially, it took little convincing on his part to get her to join him.

The old Randy Orton would never have spent a night just "hanging out," but things were drastically changing for him. For starters, thoughts of Katharine consumed his mind practically every minute of the day. He dreamt about her while he was sleeping, thought about her while he puttered around his apartment, and imagined her watching him while he worked out in the gym. They ranged from simple curiosity about her day to thoughts that people normally did not have over a friend. But then again, that line was beginning to blur for him. Katharine had become more than a friend to him, and the attraction that he felt at the beginning of their friendship had deepened into something pure that Randy could not decipher. He had never been in love before so there was no way he could determine if that was what he was feeling, but if it truly was love then he never wanted to let it go. And he wanted her to return his feelings.

For now, though, he would settle for what he could get. He often found himself imagining what it would be like to kiss her, and there was a dream that he could not shake in which she had allowed him to do so. She had whispered "just once" to him and he had done what he had been dying to do for so long. Randy could vaguely feel the sensation of her lips against his, but there was no way it could be real. He merely wrote it off as a dream, not realizing that it had come true for him on the night that he had gotten himself drunk.

The only thing he could think about while working out at the gym that day was the night that lay ahead of him. Spending time with Katharine had suddenly become the single most important thing in his life. Even his friends had picked up on it. He had bitten the bullet and called both John and Dave, who were happy to hear from him and didn't give him the standard lecture that he expected. Both of them could tell immediately that there was somebody special in his life, somebody new who was different from any girl before her. Though Randy did not deny it, he didn't offer too much information about Katharine. After all, they were still just friends as of right now. He was hoping that would change, but first he would have to discover her secrets.

Randy knew that it was going to be a challenge to get Katharine to open up to him, but he was willing to take it on. He could tell that deep down she was itching to confide in someone, but she was desperately afraid to do so. She had helped him get control of his life and had freed him from his inner demons, but it appeared that she was still trapped in her own. Katharine was the strongest person that he knew, but even those with such power inside of them needed help. He had learned that the hard way throughout this whole ordeal and he was determined to be his best friend's strength and support.

Randy intended to learn more about Katharine, and he was going to start tonight. He also wanted to know why he kept thinking about a kiss that he couldn't seem to remember…

* * *

Katharine took a deep breath before knocking on the door to Randy's apartment. Though he had asked her to come over as a friend, she couldn't help but feel like this was a date. Deep down she wanted it to be a date, and she had found herself thinking about Randy more often as of late. Her feelings for him kicked into high gear after his drunken escapade and the night that she spent in his apartment, not to mention the fantastic kiss that they had shared. 

All Katharine wanted tonight was to enjoy herself, but she was a little nervous about being alone with him tonight. Her budding feelings for Randy seemed to send everything into warped speed, making things shift and twist in ways that never happened before. She spent extra time on her appearance for the evening, something that she had never once done before when hanging out with him. She had chosen to wear a teal-colored top with a fitted bodice that clung to her curves in all the right ways, dark jeans, and black open-toed heels. Her long tresses bounced down her back in curls and she had taken the time to apply make-up. She actually felt attractive tonight, like she belonged in Randy's world.

The door opened and he stood across from her, her breath catching in her throat at the sight of him. Clad in a simple black t-shirt and jeans, his blue eyes sparkled with mischief and lit up when he saw her. Though he tried to hide it, Katharine could tell that he had assessed her appearance and liked what he saw. A feeling of warmth rose up inside her and her heart began to pound faster.

"Hey girl," he greeted her with a smile. "Welcome to my humble home. At least this time I can properly ask you to come in."

Katharine giggled as he stepped aside and allowed her to enter. "You sound so formal, Randy. It's just me here."

Randy watched her walk inside and swallowed hard. If her goal had been to get him aroused then she had certainly achieved it. The mere sight of her was enough to make him want to pull her into his arms and make passionate love to her.

_"Just once." _Her voice was suddenly inside of his head, as if he had heard her say that to him before. What the hell had happened between them that he couldn't remember?

Katharine noticed that he seemed to be drifting off into another world and her eyebrows creased together. "Randy?" she called to him.

Randy blinked a couple of times and snapped out of his reverie. "Sorry," he apologized. "I sort of spaced out there for a second."

She waved it off. "It's okay. So you said you wanted to hang out tonight. What did you have in mind?"

He grinned at her. "I want to do something that I haven't done in a really long time. I want to pig out on pizza and watch movies like I used to do with my friends before my life got too hectic."

Katharine smiled in reply. "That sounds fun!" she answered, finding it adorable that Randy would rather do something simple like that instead of going out to a club. She much preferred an evening like this to one of partying with a bunch of strangers.

"I brought something," she continued as she set her bag on the counter and began to dig around inside.

Randy watched as she pulled out a small Tupper Ware container and opened it. "You made cookies?" he exclaimed. "I had no idea you could bake!"

Katharine's smile turned sly. "You're not the only one with hidden talents in the kitchen," she retorted playfully. "I had some time on my hands today and I needed something to distract me from this piece I'm working on. I'm having a hard time getting it to turn out the way I want it to."

Randy popped one of the cookies in his mouth. "Can I read it?" he asked after he chewed and swallowed. He had read some of Katharine's work before and she was a great writer. He knew she would go far in her profession.

Katharine had every intention of letting him read the piece; after all, Randy was her inspiration for it. She didn't want him to see it until it was finished, however. "It needs to be completed before you can look at it," she told him. "But when it is, you'll be the first to read it."

"Good." Randy gazed down at her and something passed between them, a flicker of a connection that went deeper than anything that they had experienced before. It was as if something was pulling them closer, binding them together, and it was an overwhelming feeling.

The moment was interrupted by the ringing of the doorbell, and Katharine couldn't help but feel disappointed. For a second there it looked as if Randy was going to kiss her again, and although the idea scared her to death it was something that she wanted badly to happen again. The opportunity had passed, though, and she would just have to wait for another to present itself.

The pizza had arrived and instead of being formal, Randy decided that they were going to eat at the coffee table in his living area in front of the television set. Katharine picked out the movie and they settled down together to watch it while they ate.

Randy couldn't help but watch Katharine throughout the course of the meal. Her comment about Amy some time ago still resonated with him and he tried to pay attention to see if she acted strangely while eating. Nothing appeared to be out of the ordinary, however, so if Katharine had suffered from an eating disorder she must have gotten treatment for it.

Neither one paid much attention to the movie, and Katharine could feel Randy's eyes on her the entire time that they were eating. She knew he was trying not to make it obvious but he was definitely watching her, and she wanted to know why.

"Okay, out with it Randy," she said suddenly as she set her plate down and turned to face him.

He raised an eyebrow. "Out with what?"

Katharine refused to let him off the hook. "You know exactly what I'm talking about. Why are you watching me like a hawk while I eat?"

Randy tried to play the situation cool but it was clear that she had caught him and a look of embarrassment crossed his face. "I'm sorry Katharine," he apologized. "I've just been doing a lot of thinking lately and I remembered that comment that you made about Amy when we were watching Raw together. I spoke with Adam the next day and he said he had noticed her acting strange around food, but he never really thought much about it before. Amy doesn't look like she has an eating disorder, and yet you were able to pick up on the fact that something was wrong with her. I just want to know why."

Randy looked her square in the eye the entire time he spoke, and Katharine felt herself begin to wither under his gaze. Her strong defenses were slowly crumbling and he was getting inside of her, finding the answers to all of her secrets. She had allowed him to come in and begin to put two-and-two together. Now she had to deal with the consequences.

It was clear that he was sorry for making her uncomfortable, but he was unapologetic when it came to trying to find out more about her. Instead of being angry, Katharine was touched at his concern. It had been a long time since someone other than Kellie had cared so much.

That didn't mean that it was going to be easy for her to let him in, but she had brought this on herself when she made that comment about Amy and now she had to deal with the consequences. Katharine had promised herself that she would heal, and maybe the way to do that was to let someone in a little. That was what she had told Randy to do and it seemed to work for him.

Randy's expression turned nervous. "Kat? What are you thinking?"

Katharine swallowed hard and stared back at him. "You already know the reason why," she said softly. "It's the same reason that you were watching me eat tonight. You think that I have an eating disorder, and you're right. I'm in recovery now, but it's something that I have to deal with for the rest of my life."

Randy sat in stunned silence. He had suspected that all along but to hear her actually say it was unnerving. What was more surprising than the fact that she had gone through something like that was that she had confided in him. Katharine had never opened up to him before and she chose to do so now, but only because he forced her hand.

"I should have never asked," he said, feeling guilty about probing her. "It was none of my business and-"

"I'm glad you asked," she interrupted, to which Randy appeared stunned. "If you hadn't, I may never have told you. I know I need to open up but that's something that is very difficult for me to do. You just forced me to confess a big secret from my life."

Randy still wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. "And how do you feel now that you said it?"

She sighed, a little unsure of how she was feeling. "Like a weight has been lifted off of my shoulders," she finally admitted. "I know I told you to open up to me about your problems but-"

"That's easier said than done when it comes to yourself," he finished for her. "Believe me, I know where you're coming from. I just had to know, Kat. I know we've only been friends for a short period of time but I feel closer to you than practically anyone else in my life. The only thing is that I know next to nothing about you while you know everything about me."

Katharine made up her mind to be as honest as she could possibly be right now. She owed Randy that, and she also owed it to herself. She knew that he would never judge her and her mind was racing with things to tell him, but she was not sure she could get her lips to form the words. She scooted a little closer and took his hand in her own, resolving to try. He was clearly surprised at the contact and gazed at her intently, waiting for anything that she might tell him.

"My life has pretty much sucked," she began. "And I'm not complaining because a lot of people have problems that are way worse than anything I've experienced. I'm just saying that certain things do a number on you and change you into someone that you don't even recognize. You know what I mean because you're in the same exact position right now. I developed certain ways of dealing with what was bad in my life, just like you did. The only difference is that instead of getting angry at people like you do, I shut down. I'm not sure which is better but both are pretty bad. I was in a period where all I wanted was to be numb, to shut down and not feel anything else when I first met you. It was safer that way and easier to deal with everything that had happened to me. Then you came in and you turned my world upside down. Your friendship made me feel _safe_ again, something that I haven't experienced in a long time. It's just a slow process for me. There's so much I want to tell you, Randy, so much that I need to share, but I'm not at the point where I can get the words out."

Katharine looked away from him and closed her eyes. She didn't want to get emotional in front of him but the desire to let someone in began to cloud everything and she slowly began to break down inside. When she opened her eyes again, Randy was still there, his eyes focused on her and waiting for her to tell him what she needed. In that moment she realized that he would do anything for her, and that made her fall even harder for him.

"I understand," Randy assured her. His voice contained so much warmth, such compassion and tenderness that her walls began to crumble. "I just want you to know that I am here for you, anytime you need to talk about anything. I don't know what you've gone through, Katharine, but I do know that you can't go it alone forever. You taught me that."

"Maybe I should take my own advice," she replied dryly.

Randy felt like they were on the cusp of something huge, something that would change the course of their friendship forever. This was what he wanted, and now that the moment was here he was afraid. The truth was that he didn't know what Katharine had been through, and he began to wonder just how bad it truly was for her to close herself off like this. Could he handle what she might tell him? The hurt that was evident in her voice and in her eyes made him want to find whomever had caused it and tear them to pieces.

He could do this. He could be her strength. Randy knew that he had it in him and he was going to prove it to her. He squeezed her hand and brushed a stray curl from her eyes. "Why don't you try?"

Katharine swallowed hard and steadied herself for what she was about to confess. She wanted to tell him everything: about her mother, her eating disorder, and that horrible night when she was sixteen. If she proceeded slowly, she might be able to actually do it.

"The eating disorder came as a result of all of the other problems in my life," she explained to an eager Randy. "It happened when I moved here to go to school. Life as a student was stressful and I was still dealing with other issues so I felt like I was losing control of everything. I used dieting as a coping mechanism and it got me into trouble. I struggled with anorexia for a bit but I didn't have the willpower to abstain from eating so I gave up on that. That's when I turned to binging and purging."

Randy didn't say anything in response, he just urged her to continue with his eyes. He had a death-like grip on her hand and Katharine knew that he was there with her, waiting for her to proceed. She took another deep breath and forged ahead.

"I began to binge and purge during the second semester of my freshman year," she continued. "I was good at it, too, and I liked the fact that I could eat whatever I wanted. I began purging once a day, but at my lowest point I did it after every meal. It was a vicious cycle because I was gaining weight from eating so much, which made me want to purge all the more. It consumed my life for a year and a half.

"I moved into my apartment with Kellie during my sophomore year. My eating disorder was easy to hide when I was living in the dorms, but once Kellie became my roommate it was impossible to keep it quiet. At first she didn't want to believe it, but eventually she realized what I was doing and she tried to take action. We would fight all of the time and I blamed her for turning her back on me. I tried to guilt her into keeping quiet: I told her she was the only person I could count on and now she was abandoning me. It tore her up but she stuck with it, knowing that it was my addiction talking."

Katharine felt her eyes begin to water and she squeezed them shut to prevent the tears from spilling forth. She opened them once she had regained her composure and she focused on Randy. The sorrow written across his face revealed that he felt for her, empathized with what she had been through. He _understood_.

"I think what finally got me to change was seeing what my eating disorder was doing to Kellie," she said softly. "And when I hit rock bottom I was ready to get help. Kellie went with me to Health Services on campus and they gave me information about a free clinic that dealt with helping women overcome eating disorders. I checked myself in over our winter break and I worked my hardest to overcome it. It's been hard, and there are times that I think I'm going to slip back into it, but for the most part I'm completely healed. It's just something that I'm going to have to work at for the rest of my life."

Katharine looked away from him, her gaze focused on their intertwined hands. "I'm far from perfect, Randy," she whispered. "I'm afraid that you have me on a pedestal, and there's now way I could ever live up to what you imagine me to be."

Randy cupped his free hand beneath her chin and lifted her head so that she was looking at him. Her dark eyes were glassy and Randy's heart ached for her. "Nobody's perfect, Kat," he answered in a gentle tone. "I know that, and I never once thought that you were. I'm sorry that you went through something so painful. It makes my problems seem so insignificant."

She shook her head. "Just because I was bulimic does not mean that I have the market cornered on problems. You've been going through some pretty serious stuff yourself."

He smiled softly. "But we're not talking about me tonight. We're focusing on you."

"I'm fine," she assured him. "You asked so I told you."

"Do you realize that this is the first personal thing that you've ever confided in me?" Randy responded. "This is huge! I feel like we should throw a party or something!"

Katharine couldn't help but laugh at his child-like joy. "Don't get ahead of yourself there buddy," she giggled.

Randy slid off the couch and knelt before her, still holding on to her hand like a lifeline. Katharine gazed down at him, her eyes locking with his blue depths and holding her in place. "I want you to promise me something," he stated. "I want you to promise me that if you ever need to talk you'll call me, no matter what time of day it is. I'm here for you Katharine, just like you've been here for me."

Randy was so sincere that she had no choice but to agree. She was willing to promise him anything because she could sense that she was falling hard and fast for him. "I swear I will," she promised. "Just be patient with me because I'm not very good at this whole 'sharing' thing."

He smiled at her. "Same here."

An overwhelming desire to kiss her came over Randy, and try as he might he could not talk himself out of it. His hands closed over hers and his eyes begged her to let him show her what he was feeling inside. Katharine could feel his desire and it matched her own for him. She needed him, more than she had ever needed anyone, and that was enough to allow him to kiss her.

They silently urged each other on and the next thing both knew, the distance between their lips had closed and they made contact with each other. This kiss was much different than their last. That time had been a hasty decision, a venture into what had been forbidden before. This kiss felt like the joining of two people who had experienced so much and had lost even more.

Randy's hands moved behind her and pulled Katharine closer to him. His tongue danced across her lips and slid inside, gently probing her for control of the kiss. She refused to give in, however, and they danced together in a playful way. This was all so familiar to him, and suddenly he remembered kissing her before. The images flashed before him and he broke away, breathing heavy and searching her face for answers.

Katharine's eyebrows knit together. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"We've done this before," he stated. "I remember kissing you. It happened the night that I was drunk, didn't it?"

"Yes it did," she confirmed for him. "You might have been drunk, but we both wanted it."

Randy sat back on his heels. "Oh I don't doubt that I wanted it, but what surprises me is that you wanted it too, both then and now." He grinned playfully at her. "You like me, Kat."

A faint blush crept into her cheeks. "I wouldn't be kissing you if I didn't," she answered with a small smile.

He moved closer to her and wrapped his arms around her waist. "The truth is that I'm crazy about you, Katharine," Randy confessed with about as much sophistication as a young boy with a crush.

This was the moment of truth. Katharine could run away and hide or she could allow herself to feel something beautiful, even if it was at the risk of getting hurt. As much as she wanted to choose the latter, she couldn't help but believe that Randy deserved someone better than her. There was no denying it: she was in love with Randy Orton, but she was a broken woman with wings that could no longer fly. He deserved someone whole, someone who could love him in the way that he needed. Try as she might, she would never be that person.

Tears pooled in her dark eyes, and this time they slid down her cheeks. Randy didn't understand why she was crying and he used the pads of his thumbs to wipe the droplets away. "Don't cry, beautiful," he begged. It was obvious that something more than his confession of his feelings was bothering her. It was something hidden deep inside that he had not been able to see before. "Whatever it is, we'll make it better together. I promise you that."

Katharine shook her head. "You can't fix this for me, Randy," she whispered. "Telling you isn't going to make it go away. You deserve so much more than what I can give you."

He looked at her in confusion. "I don't understand," he said. "I'm telling you that I want you, exactly as you are."

"You don't know me, Randy!" Katharine began to cry harder now, and the more she tried to stop it, the more the tears streamed down her face. "And I know that's my fault, but if I tell you everything you're going to act just like everyone else. You're going to freak out and leave. I can't handle it if you leave!"

Randy watched as the strongest woman that he had ever met broke down right in front of his eyes. He had never seen Katharine cry before and the sight of it tore at his heart. His own emotions were tumbling inside of him and he didn't know what to do to help her. "Tell me what you need," he begged. "Let me help you through whatever is going on inside of you."

Katharine violently shook her head and suddenly she was sixteen again. Randy's voice grew distance and it was as if he was no longer there. She could see herself in that room again, surrounded by those guys…she felt sick and trapped, and all she knew was that she needed to get out. She tried to stand but her legs were weak and she could barely walk. The present blurred with the past and she could not tell them apart. She felt arms around her and she was afraid, so very afraid. Her captor held her tightly and she could not break free.

"Let me go!" she shouted as she fought the arms that gripped her. "I already told you no!"

Randy was frightened because he could tell that Katharine was trapped inside of her own memories. It was as if she had gone somewhere dark and couldn't tell that it was he who was holding onto her. He was the only thing keeping her from tumbling to the ground. It was then that he began to see what she had been trying to tell him all along. She had been hurt very badly before and she could not let it go.

"Katharine, it's me," he said soothingly as he stroked her wild hair. "It's Randy."

Something snapped inside of Katharine and the present came back together, pushing the past back into the recesses of her mind. She turned and all she could see was Randy, his beautiful eyes filled with concern for her and the worry on his face. His were the arms that held onto her, the strength that supported her and kept her from falling to pieces.

But her nightmare was still there, still so real and hovering over her. She had been fighting it on her own for so long and she couldn't do it any longer. And for the first time in many years, Katharine lowered her head and sobbed uncontrollably. The tears that she had experienced before were nothing compared to what poured out of her now. She cried not from her eyes but from deep within her soul, and she clung to Randy as if he were her lifeline.

Randy clutched her tightly and gently lowered them to the floor so that they were sitting. He cradled Katharine in his arms and he whispered comforting words in her ear. It was all so clear to him now and he wished he had seen it sooner. The only thing that could break someone like Katharine was the thing that a woman feared the most. Katharine, his beautiful and angelic Katharine, had been brutally raped. She had been afraid to say it and he hadn't wanted to admit it, but they both had to face the truth.

"I know baby," he whispered to her as she sniffled against him. "But I promise you that it's going to be okay now. You've got me and I will never let you go."

Katharine didn't respond, but Randy knew she had heard him. He would stay with her for as long as it took her to let her pain out. As he cradled her in the safety of his apartment, he was forced to face another truth that he had long known but had been afraid to admit. He was head over heels in love with Katharine Bauer.


	11. Healing

Thank you all for the wonderful reviews! This is the second part of Chapter 10 and it contains an explanation of what happened to Katharine. I tried not to go into too much detail, but once again, if this kind of thing bothers you, please don't read.

On a lighter note, does anyone remember the month of Randy's return to TV and his first storyline? My mind is blanking at the moment. If you do, please send me a message because I would like to keep this story somewhat accurate. Thanks a bunch!

Disclaim...

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_Chapter Eleven: Healing_

All sense of time was gone, and neither Katharine nor Randy knew how long they had been sitting together on the floor. Katharine had not shifted from her position of clutching onto him tightly, and Randy let her be for as long as she needed. Her sobs slowly began to quiet and her breathing started to return to normal, but neither one spoke. Words would break the spell that had fallen upon them.

Katharine swallowed hard and slowly disentangled herself with him. She wiped her eyes, thankful that she was wearing waterproof mascara. Her face was streaked with tears and she sniffled before turning to him.

Randy smoothed her wild tresses and gave her a small smile. "Are you okay?" he asked. It sounded like a stupid question considering what had just transpired, but he felt the need to ask.

Katharine nodded slowly. "I will be," she answered quietly, then let out a deep breath. "I was not expecting that to happen. That hasn't happened in a few years."

She still sat in his lap and Randy laced his fingers with hers. "You don't have to say anything," he said. "There's no need to explain."

"But there is." Katharine was tired, so very tired of all of this. She couldn't hold on to this secret any longer and it had gotten to be too much for her. She locked eyes with him and she could see that he was willing to do anything that she asked of him. Randy was so wonderful and it was time that she let him in.

"I've been fighting this on my own for a long time," she told him. "And I was doing fine until I met you. I had everything I thought I needed, when really I was just going through the motions. I had neatly compartmentalized every piece of my life, and you came and shook all of that up. You made me feel things I haven't felt in ages. When you kissed me tonight, everything came together and I lost it. I can't do this by myself anymore."

Randy felt an overwhelming sense of guilt at kissing her. "If I had known…If I had seen it sooner…" His voice trailed off and he looked away. The fact that he had inadvertently hurt Katharine was enough to make him want to break down and cry himself.

"No, no, no." Katharine touched his cheek and gently guided his face back to hers so that they were looking at one another once again. "I needed this to happen. I needed you to come into my life. If it had been anyone else, I wouldn't feel what's inside of me right now. I might not have experienced something so powerful that forced me to face what I never wanted to deal with again if it hadn't been for you. I thought I had dealt with it and overcame it, but I was wrong. I owe you an explanation, Randy, and you deserve to know everything."

Randy couldn't deny that he was curious, even though he knew what Katharine was going to tell him. For once he was going to put someone else's needs above his own. "I already told you, you don't have to tell me anything."

"But I want to," she insisted. "Will you let me?"

He would promise her the moon if it would make Katharine feel better. He simply nodded, and they shifted so that they were leaning against the back of the couch while still sitting in the floor together. They sat side-by-side because Katharine wasn't sure she could look him in the eye while she shared this with him.

Katharine knew this was going to be difficult but it was something that she had to do. She owed it to Randy, and to herself to come clean and truly accept what had happened to her. For far too long she had been living with the pain and she needed to let it go.

"You can stop whenever you want," Randy gently assured her. "And I will do whatever you need me to."

Katharine turned her head so that she was looking directly at him. "Just be patient with me," she said softly, the corners of her lips almost turning up into a smile. Randy was so generous, so giving, _so loving_ with her that it was impossible not to smile, despite their current situation.

Randy waited for her to speak so that he could take his cue from her as to what he should do. Katharine was quiet at first, and it looked as if she was gathering her thoughts and trying to determine where to begin.

The silence was overpowering, and just as Randy thought he was going to burst from anticipation, Katharine began to speak.

"I never knew my father," she stated. It was an awkward place to begin her story, but she figured it was best to start at the beginning. "He abandoned my mother when he found out that she was pregnant and he never came back. My mother…most of the time I don't understand why she even kept me. It was clear from an early age that she did not like being a mom and that she resented me in her life."

Randy couldn't imagine what that must have been like. Even though he had his share of problems with his parents, he loved them deeply and he knew they felt the same way about him. His family was such a core part of his life that he didn't know what it would be like to not have them.

"It sucked," Katharine continued. "But I got used to it. I mean, I never knew anything different, so how can you miss what you never had? At least that's how I felt until I got to junior high. That was when things really changed. My mom started drinking, and it wasn't long before it became a regular occurrence for her to come home and get drunk. It screwed up the little that was left of our relationship, and I haven't spoken to her in a long time. In fact, just before I left for college she told me that she hated me for ruining her life and she hoped I never came back.

"So I spent a lot of time with my friends and their families growing up, and I resolved to make something of myself so that I wouldn't fall into the same trap that she did. High school was good to me and that's when I decided that I wanted to pursue a career in journalism."

Katharine closed her eyes and took in a deep breath, taking a few moments to collect herself before she continued. She opened her eyes again and stared straight ahead, concentrating on the television set that Randy had shut off earlier.

"I was getting along fine until I turned sixteen. That was when my whole life changed."

"Katharine," Randy said, touching her arm. "It's okay, really."

She shook her head. "I need to, Randy," she whispered. "I've never told anyone all of this, not even Kellie. She knows it happened, but she doesn't know much."

Randy removed his hand from her arm, not sure if she wanted physical contact with him at the moment. He mentally prepared himself for what Katharine was about to reveal to him. It was going to painful for her to say, and difficult for him to hear.

"One of my friends was throwing a party after the homecoming game," she began slowly, her eyes still focused straight ahead. "I wasn't into that kind of thing, but I really didn't want to go home and deal with my mother who was going to be passed out on the couch in a drunken stupor. I decided to go, and every day of my life after I wish that I hadn't."

Katharine was surprisingly calm as she relayed the events that had ensued. Randy listened in horror as she told him about being cornered at the party by three of the school's star football players, about how she tried to get away but there was nowhere to go. He watched as her expression twisted in sorrow, dealing with the pain of reliving how she was dragged away from the party and raped by all three of her classmates. His heart lurched in his chest and his hands clenched into fists at his sides. He wanted to track those guys down and beat them senselessly so that they would feel the same helplessness that they had forced upon Katharine. Yet there was nothing that he could do except sit and continue to listen.

A few stray tears leaked out of her eyes and she brushed them away absent-mindedly. When the football players had finished with her, she had run from the party and escaped to the safety of her home. Her mother was asleep, just as she had suspected she would be.

"I was angry," Katharine revealed to him quietly in a dejected tone. "But more than that, I was scared. Our school held the football players on such a pedestal that I knew no one would listen to me if I tried to say anything. And they were rich. They would hire the best lawyers who would tear me to shreds and no one would believe what happened to me. So I kept quiet, and I kept my head down for the following two years of high school. I passed by them in the halls every day, and each time wore me down a little more."

"Did you tell your mother?" Randy asked, his voice thick with emotion.

She shook her head. "We were fighting so much by that point that I just didn't bother. I didn't think she would care. I was depressed and I began to skip school, until I realized that my dream of getting out of California and going to NYU was slipping away from me. I made the decision to take back my life and I found a group therapy program for young women who had been raped. I began to attend meetings and I worked really hard to make my dreams a reality. I was naïve enough to think that group therapy sessions and throwing myself into schoolwork would take care of the problem. Obviously you know it didn't."

"You've made a good life for yourself here, though," Randy reminded her. "You have a great future ahead of you in journalism and a good friend in Kellie."

"I'm getting there," she agreed. "But I'm a long way from being healed. I wanted so desperately for this to be fixed that I tricked myself into believing that I could live with what had happened as long as no one got too close. The problem is that I don't know how to trust people anymore."

Randy didn't understand, but Katharine quickly continued. "Kellie and I met early on and it was easy to open up to her; her childhood sucked, too, and we related to each other. She's been the best friend that I could ever ask for, and she helped me beat my eating disorder. But I haven't allowed myself to get close to anyone else besides her. I'm just afraid to."

"And then I came into your life." For the first time Randy realized what Katharine must have gone through in order to try and get close to him. While he had been clinging to her in order to deal with his problems, she was trying to find a way to trust him.

Katharine turned to look at him for the first time during the course of their conversation. Her dark, expressive eyes had always held an aura of mystery about them, telling him that there were secrets about her that he would never learn. That curtain was lifted now, however, and there was a clarity in them that Randy had never seen before. It was almost as if she had been purged of her pain by confiding in him. He would gladly take it on for her so that she could go on living.

"I'm so glad you came into my life," she replied, her voice a little shaky. "Because if you hadn't, I wouldn't be here sharing this with you. I wouldn't feel like there was a chance for me to really move on." Her eyes suddenly averted his and she played with the hem of her shirt. "But I understand if you want me to walk out that door right now."

Randy's eyes widened. "Never!" he exclaimed, causing her head to snap up. "Kat, nothing you could ever say or do would make me feel that way. You mean the world to me." _I love you_. Those three little words were on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn't say them to her. Not now, not when she was still so hurt.

The mist of sadness that surrounded her lifted and Randy saw hope in her eyes. "Really?"

He placed his hand on his heart, feeling the erratic beating of the organ beneath his touch. "I swear to you on my life. I will not walk away from you."

Katharine was so overcome with relief and joy that she flung her arms around Randy's neck and held him close. He embraced her, gently at first before allowing himself to hold her tighter. It felt so good to hold her, as if this was where he belonged.

"Did you mean it before when you hinted that you liked me?" he asked her, desperate to know how she felt about him.

She pulled back, her cheeks deepening to a crimson shade. "Yeah, I did. Did you mean it when you said that you were crazy about me?"

"With all of my heart," he answered eagerly.

Katharine bit her lip. "I don't know how to do this, Randy. I don't know how to trust. Can you teach me how?"

Randy took her hand in his and squeezed it reassuringly. "We have all the time in the world, Katharine. We can start this slow, and you'll learn to trust me in time. Just believe me when I say that I would never hurt you, and that if I could take all of this pain away for you I would."

"I know." And Katharine truly did know that to be true. She had always sensed that Randy would never hurt her, and she was going to take a leap of faith now. She was going to believe him and allow herself to begin on this journey with him, wherever it might take her.

Randy placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. "The past is behind you, Katharine. Everything's going to be alright now."

Katharine hugged him again, pressing herself close to him so that she could feel his heart beat next to hers. "I believe you," she whispered. For the first time in her life, Katharine finally felt like things would be okay.


	12. A Proposition

**Hi everybody! Here's a new chapter for you...no I haven't forgotten about this story! I've just had a hard time writing it lately...my muses were lacking inspiration.**

**Hope you enjoy this chapter- it's a bit light and fluffy!**

**Disclaim...**_

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_Chapter Twelve: A Proposition_

This was not a situation that Randy Orton was used to. Normally when he wanted a girl, all he had to do was express his interest and she would fall into his waiting arms. They would share physical intimacy and then it might be over. Although he had always hoped to find a girl that he could settle down with, never once did he imagine that he would be beginning some sort of relationship with a woman who had the power to control his every thought, every move, every emotion.

They had finally come clean with each other about all that they had been through. Randy had shared all of his past mistakes with Katharine, including the problems that arose for him because of his temper, and she didn't judge him. She had confided her deepest secret in him, shared with him her emotional scars, and he was still there beside her.

They both knew that they liked each other, but there were so many issues for them to overcome that they couldn't dive headfirst into a relationship. Katharine needed to learn how to trust again and Randy had to practice putting another person's needs above his own. They were beginning slowly, with the intention that their time spent together would someday progress into something more.

His mood was lighter and he felt more at peace than he had in a long time. His return to WWE television was approaching rapidly, but he was no longer apprehensive about it. He had come to see that some things mattered more than the wrestling business, such as his relationships with people. John and Dave were glad to see that their friend was returning to his old self, and his parents could not stop telling him how proud they were of him. While Randy would have liked to take credit for all the progress that he had made, he knew that it belonged solely to Katharine. She was his angel, a beacon of light that was given to him in his darkest hour. He would love her forever for that.

Randy was determined to tell Katharine how he felt about her, but he couldn't do it yet. She was slowly opening up to him, allowing herself to become vulnerable once again, and he was afraid to do anything that might jeopardize that recovery process for her. He would bide his time and wait for the right opportunity to tell her. In the meantime, all he wanted to do was see her. His thoughts were consumed of her and she was constantly on his mind.

He had something important to ask her, and he wasn't sure how she would react. Randy had been planning on going home to St. Louis to visit his parents and the rest of his family ever since his suspension began, but he had been ashamed to face them. He no longer felt that way, however, and he wanted to go before he was required to return to WWE television.

And he didn't want to go alone. Randy wanted Katharine to accompany him on his trip. He was serious about loving her, about wanting to take this as far she would let him. Katharine was so important to him that he wanted her to meet his family. He couldn't remember the last time he had wanted to bring a girl home to meet his parents so it definitely meant that he was serious about her. He just wasn't sure that Katharine was ready for such a big step.

There was only one way to find out. Randy found himself standing on the sidewalk one afternoon, gazing up at the apartment building that Katharine called home. She had allowed him to come inside the few times that he had picked her up from home instead of the restaurant, so it wasn't strange for him to be there. He was just nervous about what he wanted to ask her.

He glanced at the watch on his wrist and knew that she should be back from class now. He had come to know her class and work schedule by heart. Yes, he was definitely turning into a love-sick fool, and he was enjoying every minute of it.

He climbed up the steps and let himself inside the building, easily finding his way to her apartment. He rang the bell and then heard Katharine's voice on the other side of the buzzer, asking who was there. He announced his arrival could hear the smile in her response. The door unlocked seconds later she was standing in the doorway, waiting for him to come inside.

"I didn't expect to see you today," she smiled happily. "But I'm liking the surprise."

Randy grinned back at her and pulled her into a hug. Katharine was much more willing to allow him to touch her now that she had confided in him. "I wanted to say hi to my favorite girl," he said softly in her ear. "And tell you that I missed you."

Katharine pulled back slightly so that she was gazing up at him, her brown eyes positively shining. Randy couldn't recall ever seeing her quite like this before. She looked like she was finally at peace with everything, and it was clear that she was happy. He had never actually seen her happy prior to this.

"I'm glad you're here, even if I am in the middle of some serious work for school," she said.

He instantly felt bad for dropping by unannounced. "I can come back," he said quickly. "I don't want to keep you and-"

Katharine placed a finger to his lips. "Ssh," she admonished him. "I want you to come inside and stay. Just beware of the mess."

Randy nodded and gave her a mock salute. "Yes ma'am," he teased.

She giggled and took his hand, leading inside the small apartment that she called home. One step across the threshold told Randy that she wasn't kidding about the mass. Her small living area was covered with papers and books, and her laptop sat open on the small table in the middle. He could smell coffee brewing and from the looks of things it seemed that she had downed multiple cups that day.

Katharine was dressed in a tight t-shirt and sweatpants, with her long dark hair pulled up messily on top of her head. She looked as if she couldn't care less about her appearance, and that was exactly how Randy loved her.

"You have just entered the world of a college student," she warned him as she sat down on her ratty couch and picked up her laptop. "And one who is about to lose her mind right before graduation."

Once again Randy was grateful that he had never gone to college. He kicked off his shoes and sat down beside her, sinking down into the sofa's worn cushions. Katharine's apartment was the exact opposite of his, and yet he felt so at home here. It was warmly decorated and looked lived-in, showing signs of life that his place often lacked.

The small window was almost completely covered by the air conditioner that was shoved in it, but Randy could still see the blue sky through it. It was a beautiful spring day outside, and looking at the work that Katharine was swamped with made him want to take her out and give her a chance to put it all away for awhile.

"Do you want to take a break and grab some dinner later?" he asked while trying to read her laptop's screen in an attempt to decipher what she was working on.

Katharine shook her head while resuming her typing. "As much as I would love to, I have to buckle down and finish this tonight," she replied. "It's my senior comprehensive portfolio that examines all of the work that I have done over the past four years and I'm so behind on it. I think if I work nonstop for the rest of the day I will have caught up to where I need to be in order to get it done on time."

"Why are you so behind?" he asked. "You're always on top of everything."

Katharine turned to him and smiled shyly, almost like she had a secret to share. "I was working on something else," she answered vaguely.

Randy raised an eyebrow. "And that was…?"

She set her laptop aside and turned so that she was facing him completely. "Do you remember the night that we first met, we joked about me writing a story about you?"

He chuckled at the memory. "Of course I do. I remember everything about that night."

Katharine played with the ring on her finger. "Well my professor told me about this short story contest that the New York Post was sponsoring. The winning piece would be published in an upcoming issue and the author would receive five hundred dollars, plus consideration for an internship. It was absolutely perfect for me and I decided to enter. I had no idea what to write about until we became friends. The things you told me about feeling lost and alone, they were just too good to let go. You became the basis of my story, my main character."

She started to ramble as if she was nervous. "I mean, I changed everything, and I didn't even include it all. I would never share your deepest secrets, but I wanted to do something with all that you had told me. I felt like your story could help someone else." Katharine bit her lip nervously. "You're not mad, are you?"

Randy was stunned at her confession. He never thought she was serious about using him for a piece, and the passion in her voice when she spoke of both him and her story showed him just how much of an impact he had had on her.

Katharine rifled through some papers until she came across her copy of the story that she had submitted. "It was cathartic for me to write it," she said softly. He still had yet to speak and she was afraid that he was angry with her. "Please say something."

Randy grinned at her. "I told you that I would become the subject of a story someday."

She giggled and threw her arms around him. "You are too much, you know that?"

Randy nestled his head in the crook of her neck and inhaled, breathing in the scent of flowers. She always smelled that way and he loved it. It was more intoxicating than the most expensive of perfume.

"You wouldn't have me any other way," he whispered in her ear. He wrapped his arms tightly around her waist and ran a hand up and down her back, reveling in the feeling of holding her in his arms, cleaved to his body. Though Randy had no expectations when it came to sharing physical intimacy with Katharine, he would be lying if he said he didn't want to be with her. She was a beautiful woman and he loved her. He wanted to know what it was like to make love, not to simply have sex. He had only ever had sex, for he had never been in love before. He would never push her, though, never expect her to do something that she did not want to do. He loved her for what she was and how she made him feel. That was what counted.

It was so strange for Randy to be thinking this way, for he had long since held the reputation of a player. Often times he had lived up to it, too, but he had begun to change. There was more to life than reputation and having fun; there was the need, the craving, to be with someone who understood him completely. He had finally found her.

Time stood still as they held each other, but eventually Katharine shifted so that she was gazing at him. "You're right," she smiled. "I wouldn't have you any other way."

Randy leaned in and they kissed softly. It was simple and sweet, and he liked it. Determined not to push her, he pulled back before the kiss could deepen. "This has to be better than working on that comprehensive thing."

"It definitely is." She gave him a peck on the cheek and then completely broke the hold. "But that doesn't change the fact that it has to be done."

Randy groaned and settled back against the couch. "When is this thing due?" he asked.

"The end of next week," she answered while looking over some papers. "But it will be done this weekend. I don't want to work on it any longer than I have to."

Now was his chance. Randy cleared his throat and scratched the back of his neck. "So that means next weekend is free?"

Katharine smiled and turned to him. "Yes, next weekend is all yours."

"What would you say about spending it with me in St. Louis?" Randy spit the words out quickly, then waited with nervous anticipation for her response.

Katharine's eyes widened and she swallowed hard. "What?"

This was not going to be good. He shouldn't have asked, he was pushing too hard. "Actually, never mind," Randy quickly retracted. "It was stupid and I shouldn't have asked. I'll just-"

"Will you stop?" Katharine placed a hand on his arm and forced him to remain in his seat, for he had been ready to jump up and leave. "I'm surprised, that's all. I didn't think you were planning on going home for a bit, and I definitely didn't think you would ask me to come with you."

"I wanted to show you where I come from," he answered sheepishly, his voice reminiscent of that of a child who had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. "And since you've changed my life and we have this thing between us, I wanted you to meet my family. It's moving too fast, I know."

"That would be moving fast," Katharine agreed, and silence overtook them. Randy lowered his head, feeling like a complete idiot. He had probably just ruined the best thing that had ever happened to him.

"Maybe moving fast isn't so bad when it comes to this," she finally said, causing his head to snap up. "I mean, there is something between us and you promised to help me trust again. I think we should work on that and this is a good way to do it."

Randy's face lit up. "Are you sure? You really want to do this?"

Katharine nodded and smiled. "I do. I would love to go home with you."

He felt like jumping for joy inside, but he wanted to be sure that she was okay with this. "You're not just doing this because I want to go, are you? Because I can go by myself."

Katharine was absolutely sure. She had meant it when she said that she wanted to learn how to trust again, and she felt that trust growing between her and Randy. It was time to put her faith in him and move to the next level. She was doing what her heart wanted and she refused to listen to the senseless warnings that her brain was hammering at her. She wanted to live.

She took his hand in her own and squeezed it. "I swear to you, I want to do this."

Randy's face lit up like a Christmas tree. "Okay then, we'll leave after your classes on Friday, and we'll be back before you have to go back on Monday."

Katharine's heart brimmed with happiness. She knew that he cared about her and the fact that he wanted her to meet his family showed it. Though she couldn't bring herself to say it yet, she loved Randy Orton deeply. She could only hope that his family would accept her.


	13. St Louis

**New chapter...it's the first part of Randy and Katharine's adventure in St. Louis so there will be more to come! Thank you for all of the hits and reviews!**

**Disclaim...**

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Chapter Thirteen: St. Louis_

Katharine's stomach was a bundle of nerves as she gazed out the window of Randy's rental car. The beautiful scenery of the suburbs just outside of St. Louis did little to calm her down, for she would soon find herself face-to-face with Randy's parents.

She had debated the merits of her decision throughout the course of the week. The decision made by her heart to join Randy on his trip home had ultimately won, but she had almost changed her mind. Even though she knew she loved Randy, she was scared because their relationship was progressing very quickly. While Katharine was learning how to trust again, she was understandably still skeptical when it came to putting all of her heart into a relationship. A part of her was holding back from him, evident by the fact that she had yet to tell him that she loved him.

Katharine had been seconds away from picking up the telephone and calling Randy to tell him that she was backing out of the trip, but changed her mind after Kellie talked some sense into her. She continued to play the conversation over in her mind whenever she began to doubt her decision to come along.

_"You're thinking of doing what?!?" Kellie cried incredulously._

_Katharine guiltily looked at the phone in her hand and set the receiver down in its cradle. "I just don't know, Kellie," she sighed. "I'm not sure this is a good idea."_

_The petite blonde folded her arms across her chest and stared expectantly at her best friend. "You need to tell me why," she demanded. "Because from where I'm standing it doesn't make sense. The most gorgeous guy on the face of the Earth asked you to come home with him for the weekend, not for some nonstop hanky panky but to meet his parents! The guy is crazy about you and likes you for who you are, baggage and all. He gets it, Katharine, so why are you running away?"_

_Why was she running away? Katharine didn't have a good answer, and Kellie knew it. Her normally bubbly, carefree friend was determined to make her stick to her original decision to go away with Randy. When Kellie made her mind up about something there was no changing it._

_"I'm scared," she admitted as she leaned against the wall. "This 'thing' that Randy and I have going on between us, this would-be relationship, is going really well and I don't want that to change."_

_"And you're afraid that if you go away with him it will?" Kellie questioned softly, trying to get at the root of Katharine's fear. She knew it stemmed from the fact that she had been raped when she was younger, but there was more to it._

_Katharine nodded. "I'm afraid he'll think that I'm ready to give him more than I really can. I like the way things are between us right now. What if he decides that he wants to take this to the next level? I think that by going away with him I'm sending him mixed signals."_

_Kellie approached her friend and placed her hands on her arms. "You said that you told Randy everything, right?"_

_"I did," she agreed._

_"And he understands what your current limitations are, right?"_

_She scrunched her nose. "He says he does and he hasn't tried to push me."_

_"Then you have nothing to worry about!" Kellie assured her. "He wants you to meet his family because he's serious about you and likes you for you. I know it's hard, but don't think about what could go wrong between you two and enjoy what you have right now. How many times have you told me something similar?"_

_The corners of her lips turned upwards into an acquiescing smile. "Many," Katharine admitted._

_Kellie's familiar bright grin returned to her face. "Then take your own advice! I've seen the way he acts around you when he's here and he's fallen hard. He'll take anything that you can give him."_

_"I'm trusting him more and more," Katharine told her. "And it scares me, but every time I put a little more faith in him I find that he lives above and beyond my expectations."_

_"I think you have your answer about what to do," Kellie said. "You just needed a little pushing in the right direction."_

_Katharine smiled wider. "I'm going to go with him like I planned," she decided. "And I'm going to allow myself to get closer to him. Thank you so much, Kellie."_

_Kellie hugged her tightly. "That's what friends are for. If memory serves me correctly, you talked me through many relationship issues before."_

_She giggled while pulling back. "And besides, I know you'd have his head if he hurt me."_

_"Damn right!" Kellie promised. "I've already put the boy on notice and he knows to behave; otherwise, he's going to have a very difficult time reproducing!"_

_The girls collapsed into a fit of laughter at Kellie's declaration and Katharine knew that she was lucky to have a friend like her. She always had her best interests at heart, and if Kellie said she had nothing to worry about then she believed her._

Thinking about their conversation brought a smile to Katharine's face as she gazed out the window. Randy saw her smiling out of the corner of his eye and he glanced over at her. "What are you thinking about, pretty girl?"

"A conversation that I had with Kellie the other day," she giggled. Turning to look at him, she raised an eyebrow inquisitively. "She mentioned something about talking with you, too."

Randy swallowed hard and squirmed in his seat, trying to focus on driving the car and not the threat that the bubbly blonde had made to his manhood. "Yeah, we spoke while waiting for you to come home. Your friend is very…protective."

"She promised to castrate you if you hurt me, didn't she?"

"That she did," he informed her. "And even though she's a tiny little thing I think she's capable of it."

Katharine couldn't help but laugh at the sight of Randy's discomfort. He was trying so hard to pay attention to driving while putting her friend's threat out of his mind. His chiseled features were schooled into a nonchalant expression, but she knew better. She could read him like a book.

She decided to add fuel to the fire. "Kellie likes you, you know," she informed him casually. "She told me so herself."

"She has a funny way of showing it!" Randy exclaimed, then quickly clamped his mouth shut and stared straight ahead.

Katharine rubbed the strong forearm that was closest to her and leaned in towards him. "Relax, she's not going to do anything. That's what Kellie and I do. Every time she brings a new guy around I give him the same speech. She was just returning the favor. Not that she isn't capable of doing what she promised," she cautioned him jokingly.

Randy shook his head and glanced back at her. "I like that she's protective of you," he told her. "She's a good friend."

"The best," Katharine agreed.

Randy slipped his right hand in hers while controlling the steering wheel with his left. "She has nothing to worry about. I would never do anything to hurt you."

A feeling of intimacy washed over them, and in that one moment Katharine felt the already deep connection between them grow. She allowed herself to scoot closer and rest her head against him.

Randy's heart warmed at Katharine's movement and he kissed the top of her head, her dark curls cascading around her like a waterfall. Small actions such as that had been happening more frequently, and she was always the first to initiate them. Though they often held hands, she was allowing herself to be physically closer to him. He took it as a sign that she was trusting him more and more. He knew that deciding to come home to St. Louis with him had been a difficult decision for her but she hadn't backed out, though he was sure she had second-guessed herself multiple times. What mattered was that she chose to stick to her first choice and take a leap of faith.

"We're almost there," Randy told her. "I spoke to my mom this morning and she cannot wait to meet you. She's baking, which proves just how happy she is. She only bakes for special occasions."

"What did you tell them about us?" Katharine asked, unsure of what his parents were expecting of them when they arrived.

Randy squeezed her hand. "I told them that we're dating," he said. "But above all else we're best friends. Is that okay?"

Katharine smiled and snuggled deeper against him. "It's perfect." Randy never ceased to amaze her. He took such wonderful care of her and she knew that she was lucky to have him.

"Now my dad can be a little 'out there,'" Randy warned her. "He likes to recall the glory days of his wrestling career and tends to tell the same stories over and over again. Just pretend that you've never heard them before."

"Okay," she giggled.

"And if he asks you what you think about his arm being broken for all those years, tell him you think it was admirable of him to continue wrestling," he continued. "He's very protective of that arm."

She lifted her head and looked up at him. "I thought you told me his arm was fine."

Randy rolled his eyes. "It is, but he likes to think that he wrestled with a serious injury for years and years. I've tried to tell him that for most of his career that injury was fake, but he doesn't want to hear it. Like I said, he's a bit 'out there.'"

"Your family sounds wonderful," Katharine smiled. Even though she was nervous, she was really excited to meet them. Randy had told her lots of stories about his childhood and his family sounded so loving and supportive. It was a far cry from anything that she had ever experienced in her own life.

Randy turned the car down a quiet street that was filled with expensive looking homes. Obviously the Ortons were rich; after all, Randy came from a long line of successful wrestlers. She reminded herself that money didn't mean anything, especially since the incredibly wealthy Randy Orton had fallen for her.

Randy pulled into a long driveway that led up to a large white house. "We're here," he announced as he stopped the car. "Dad was never flashy about his money, except when it came to buying things for my mom and picking out a house."

She climbed out of the car and looked up at the vast estate before her. "It's beautiful," she said and turned back to him. "Is this where you grew up?"

Randy nodded. "That would be it." He walked around the front of the car to where Katharine was standing and took her hand. "Are you ready?"

She swallowed down her nerves and nodded. "I think so."

Randy placed a reassuring kiss to her temple. "You'll be fine," he promised.

Katharine was about to respond but they heard the front door of his home open. They both turned and a huge grin broke out across Randy's face. "Becks!" he called. "What are you doing here?"

A young woman came down the front walk, grinning as well. Katharine immediately knew that she was his younger sister Becky. Randy was very protective of her and loved her dearly.

Becky gave her brother a long hug. "It's about time you came home," she told him. "Now that you're a New Yorker you can't be bothered with us back in St. Louis."

Randy ruffled her hair and winked. "You're going to leave soon, too, Becks. You're a college graduate now." He turned to Katharine and took her hand once again. "Becks, this is Katharine."

A warm smile spread across his sister's face and she immediately embraced Katharine. "It's so nice to meet you!"

Katharine was overwhelmed by Becky's warm welcome and instantly relaxed. "You too. Randy's told me a lot about you."

Becky pulled back and shook her head. "Don't believe a word of it. He's the troublemaker in the family, not me. I'm sure he told you the exact opposite."

"Would I do that?"

"Yes!" Becky and Katharine answered in unison before laughing. Katharine immediately liked Randy's sister because she could tell she was a lot like him.

"Randy's told me a lot about you, too," Becky informed her. "And according to him you have already been sainted."

A blush crept over Randy's cheeks and he kicked at a stone in the driveway. "I never said that."

"Aw, that's very sweet," Katharine said as she squeezed his hand. "Thank you so much for letting me come with Randy this weekend. It was very nice of you."

Becky waved her hand in dismissal of her thanks. "No need to thank me. My mom has wanted you to come visit with Randy ever since he mentioned that you two were friends. It's not every day that he meets a girl who means so much to him."

Randy rubbed the back of his neck, growing more embarrassed by the second. "You can really stop now, Becks."

His sister ignored him. "It's always a little awkward 'meeting the family' but there's no need to be nervous," Becky continued. "We're all really glad that you're here."

A lump formed in Katharine's throat. Until she had met Randy she had never been accepted unconditionally by anyone, and now his family was opening their arms to her. It meant the world to her.

Randy could tell that she was getting emotional and he wrapped an arm around her. He knew that Katharine had led a solitary life, but this weekend she was going to get a taste of what it was like to be part of a real family. "Just remember what I said about Dad's arm," he joked.

Katharine laughed and so did Becky. "I remember."

He cocked his head towards the door. "Come on, let's go inside."

Randy was proud to have Katharine with him as he led her up the walk. He squeezed her hand reassuringly and they made their way to the door. Katharine took a deep breath and they headed inside.


	14. Finding Peace

**Wow, it's been a long time since I posted a new chapter! I'm so sorry for the wait, but thank you guys for sticking with me!!!! Your reviews and kind words mean the world to me!**

**It's kind of funny posting a new chapter to this story right now with all of the issues that the real Randy Orton seems to be going through. Maybe he needs a real Katharine to save him! Hahaha!**

**This chapter begins to live up to its "M" rating. As always, I disclaim...**

_

* * *

Chapter Fourteen: Finding Peace_

If Katharine had known prior to arriving in St. Louis how openly Randy's family would receive her, she never would have been nervous about meeting them. Becky's warm welcome had only been the beginning: his mother, Elaine, treated her as a long-lost daughter and Cowboy Bob was open and inviting. It was easy to see why Randy loved his family so much. They were a real family, the kind that Katharine had never experienced before but had always longed to be a part of.

Elaine had been interested in her choice of major in college and asked her all sorts of questions about what she wanted to do once she graduated. Randy's younger brother, Nathan, was curious about what NYU was like because he was thinking of going to graduate school there. Cowboy Bob spoke with her about his arm, just as Randy had said he would. Katharine had smiled and told him how admirable it was for him to continue wrestling with such a difficult injury for so long. She immediately won him over.

And Randy hadn't been kidding when he had said that his mom was baking. Cookies, cakes, and all sorts of deserts filled the house. Each one had been a childhood favorite of Randy had Elaine had made them specially for him. It was a good thing that Katharine could eat easily now because she would have hated herself if she had missed out on Elaine's baking!

It had been a wonderful day, one that she had never expected to have with her would-be boyfriend's parents. It was late in the evening, but no one was ready to go to bed yet. Becky had left for her apartment and Nathan had gone back to school, but Katharine and Randy remained with Bob and Elaine to talk some more. Randy and his father were sitting on the back porch together, leaving Katharine and Elaine alone at the kitchen table.

"More coffee?" Elaine asked her as she refilled her own cup.

Katharine shook her head, still holding a half-full cup in her hands. "No thank you, I still have plenty."

Elaine set the coffee pot down on the counter and sat down next to her at the table. "I'm glad we have this time alone together because there is something that I need to say to you."

Katharine swallowed hard, worried that she had done something to upset Randy's mother. She quickly racked her brain but couldn't think of anything. "Okay," she said nervously.

Elaine smiled reassuringly at her and patted her hand. "I wanted to thank you for all of the good that you have done for my son," she said gratefully. "You have no idea what it means to all of us."

Her eyes widened in disbelief. "I'm not sure I did anything," she answered. "If anything, Randy has changed me."

Elaine shook her head. "You didn't know him before, but the Randy Orton that walked through my door today has been gone for about two years. The pressures of the wrestling industry took away his youthful spirit and he became someone that none of us recognized. He was arrogant, bitter, and spiteful, not to mention that he conducted himself in ways that his father and I would never approve of. It killed me because I saw him throwing away his dream, and I thought that was exactly what had happened when he was suspended.

"But I will never forget that day about a month ago when he called home," Elaine continued. "And he sounded like my son again, the boy that I raised to be a good man. He told me he was in therapy and that he had met someone. The way he spoke of you, Katharine, I swear it was as if he had changed over night. You see, that is why I need to thank you. I don't know what you did, but whatever it was you brought my son back to me."

Tears welled in Elaine's eyes and Katharine scooted her chair closer to her. Although she knew that she had helped Randy, he had changed himself. "Oh Elaine," she said softly. "I wish I could take credit for it but I can't. I really didn't do anything; all I did was listen to him. I met him while I was working, you know. He came into the restaurant late one night, and I think it was after a show. He was absolutely miserable and he looked so lost. We talked, and somehow we became friends. I just. . .listened to him I didn't do anything else."

"And you urged him to give therapy a chance," Elaine added. "He told me that."

"I did," she agreed. "But the change in him, that's all Randy's doing. That man was in there the night that I met him; he just needed confidence in himself to regain what he had lost."

Elaine smiled at her. "You don't realize it, my dear girl, but just by listening to him you gave him that confidence. Randy has always been a bit of a loner. He's my oldest and very independent. And when he makes a mistake, he owns up to it and does what is necessary to fix it. He's a good man."

Katharine smiled as well. "The best."

Elaine paused to take a sip of her coffee. "Randy told me that you two are taking things slow."

Katharine shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "We are," she confirmed.

"I think that's wise," his mother agreed. "But just so you know, I'm hoping that it works out between the two of you. I have never seen my son so happy and you are a wonderful girl."

Katharine swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat. It was true that she wanted to take things slow, but she could see herself becoming part of the Orton family. They had everything that she had always wanted, that she had craved all of her life. She could make a new life for herself with them; not only would she have a wonderful and loving husband but the parents that she had always longed for.

But she had a long way to go before she could reach that dream. "I don't think that will be happening anytime soon," she said softly, her voice choked with emotion. "I have a lot to learn before I can be what Randy needs."

Elaine could sense her sadness and she squeezed her hand. "What about what you need? Does he give you that?"

If his mother only knew. "He's everything I could ever want," she answered truthfully. "He has given me more than I can possibly explain to you. It's just that. . . ." Her voice trailed off as she searched for the right words to convey what she was feeling.

"My life has pretty much sucked," Katharine said finally. "And Randy is the first good thing that has happened to me in a really long time. I should be jumping at the chance to be with him, but I have a lot of healing to do first."

Elaine nodded in understanding. "I don't think he's going anywhere," she told her. "With the way he looks at you, I know he is in this for the long haul. I can tell that you feel the same way."

Katharine could only hope that Randy was in it for the long haul. Even though she didn't have the courage or the strength to tell Randy that she loved him, she sometimes imagined what their life would be like together if they ended up getting married. He was the type of man that she had always imagined herself being with. He was everything she could ever want but still felt so far out of reach sometimes. It was all so much: how special he made her feel and the love from his family. It was more than she could have ever hoped for.

Elaine noticed the tears forming in the corners of Katharine's eyes and a worried expression crossed her face. "What's the matter, honey?" she asked with concern.

Katharine shook her head. "I'm okay, just a little emotional." She drew in a shaky breath and smiled at her. "I never expected you all to be so wonderful. I never had a real family before and you all are everything I ever one to be. Randy's really lucky to have all of you in his life."

"That's so sweet of you to say." Elaine gave her a comforting hug and rubbed her back. "You are welcome here anytime. I know you live in New York, but if you ever need to get away come right on over."

Katharine pulled back, her eyes brimming with happiness. "Thank you so much. You have no idea how much all of this means to me."

Elaine was very perceptive and could tell that Katharine had been through a lot. She also knew that something traumatic must have happened to this young woman for her to feel so emotional over their family's welcome to her. They had only just met, but she knew that this was the woman that she wanted her son to spend his life with. They completed one each other, gave one what the other sorely needed.

She didn't voice her opinions to Katharine, however, for she didn't want to scare her away. Instead, Elaine resolved to treat the young woman before her as a would-be daughter-in-law and the mother that she was sure she never had.

"I'm not usually such an emotional wreck," Katharine giggled, breaking the silence.

Elaine waved her comment away. "Honey, we're women. Emotional is what we do best!"

Katharine's giggles broke out into laughter and the two women began to gossip and talk like old friends. A sensation of peace settled inside of her, just like she felt whenever Randy was around. It was becoming a familiar feeling, one that she liked a lot.

* * *

"That sure is a beautiful young lady you've got there, Randy," Cowboy Bob said before taking another sip of his beer.

Randy rolled the bottle he was holding back and forth between his hands and stared out into the night. "Yeah, Katharine's amazing," he responded softly. He couldn't get over how perfectly she fit into his family. It was like she had been a part of them all along. He already knew that she was the missing link that his life needed to feel complete right now. The fact that she got along so well with his family just confirmed what he already knew.

"Your mother likes her a lot," his father continued. "She didn't say it in so many words, but she didn't have to. I can just tell."

"And I can tell that Katharine likes Mom a lot, too," Randy smiled. "Her own mother never really cared about her. I know she's always wished for someone like Mom to be her mother."

Cowboy Bob cast a long, sideways look at his son. "You love her, don't you son?"

Randy sighed and took a long sip of his beer. "You just want me to settle down, Dad," he answered, hoping a joke would lighten the mood and change the subject.

No such luck. "Yes I do," his father replied matter-of-factly. "But not with those bimbos that you've been carousing with as of late. Now Katharine, she's a good girl, the kind I always told you to marry."

Randy glanced over at him. "You really like her?"

"What does it matter what I like?" Bob harrumphed. He wasn't one to talk about his feelings and usually turned gruff when such a topic arose. However, something was different this time. There was a twinkle in his father's eyes that Randy had never seen before.

"Yeah, I think she's a nice gal who would treat you right," he continued. "Sweet little thing, too. But what matters is how you feel."

Randy gazed up at the stars and squirmed in his seat. He and his father never talked about emotions, but he should have known that the old cowboy was up to something when he brought him out on the back porch. He had said it was to give Katharine some time alone with his mother, but he should have known better.

How could he describe the way that he felt about Katharine? Randy knew he loved Katharine, but he had a hard time saying it loud. Love was such a complicated matter for the two of them that he was becoming very skilled at suppressing that emotion. Besides, he had no idea how to describe what he felt inside. He didn't have any experience with love. Lust, yes, but not love.

"Ah, don't worry about it, son," Cowboy Bob said after a moment, letting Randy off the hook. "You don't have to know how you feel now."

"I do love her," Randy said suddenly and looked his father square in the eye. He might as well come clean right now, for what did he have to lose? "At least I think it's love. I don't know too much about all of that stuff. I just know that I feel something different for her than I've ever felt before."

Cowboy Bob nodded and smiled. It was just as he had suspected all along. "Well that's fine, son. If it's different than what you've felt before then it probably is love. You're the first to say that you haven't been in love yet."

"Isn't that the truth," he agreed and took a long sip of his drink.

"Have you told Katharine?"

Randy settled back into his chair and looked up at the stars. "Not yet," he admitted. "I'm not sure how she'd react. Things haven't been easy for her and I don't want to do anything to make it harder on her."

His father's eyebrows narrowed. "What's happened to her?"

Randy shook his head, unwilling to betray Katharine's confidence, even to his father. "Let's just say it's something pretty horrific. It took Kat a long time to tell me about it herself and she'd be mortified if she knew that you were aware of it."

"I don't know what a nice young thing like her has to be ashamed of," Bob commented.

His free hand clenched into a fist as he imagined pounding the living daylights out of the bastards that had raped Katharine. He had wanted to murder them all ever since she had told him what had happened. "She doesn't have anything to be ashamed of," he agreed. "I think it's more like survivor's guilt."

Cowboy Bob noticed that Randy's fingers had balled up into a fist. "Getting ready to knock somebody out there, son?"

Randy chuckled and relaxed his hand. "Wishful thinking, I guess."

"Let me know if you need me. We'll tag team 'em, just like the old days."

"I'll let you know, Dad." The two of them made a good team when they wanted to, and he realized just how much he had missed sitting around with his father on the porch, talking about everything and nothing at all. Coming back to St. Louis made him realize just how much he had missed his family and how grateful he was for them.

"It's been a long time since we've done this, Dad," Randy said quietly. "I'm sorry I've been gone for so long."

Cowboy Bob didn't answer right away. Instead, he finished the rest of his beer in one gulp and set the empty bottle on the porch beside him. Silence enveloped them for a long time before his father finally spoke.

"You don't have anything to be sorry for, son," he answered finally. "Lord knows I screwed up quite a bit when I was a youngster. It was only by the grace of God and your mother that I turned out all right."

"I just couldn't face you both," Randy confessed. "Not when I knew how badly I had messed up."

"But you're fixing it now," Bob reminded him. "And from what I can see, you're doing a mighty fine job of it, too. Mistakes are okay, Randy. It's what you do with those mistakes that makes you a good man or a coward. I'm proud to say that I raised a good man."

Randy met his father's grin in silence. Words were not needed to convey what both men felt inside. Their bond as father and son ran deeper than that. It meant the world to Randy to know that his father was proud of him. Maybe if his dad was proud of him, then he could start being proud of himself as well.

* * *

Randy spent a long time out on the porch with his father, but it was getting late and he was tired. He wished he could say he was going to spend the night with Katharine in her guest bedroom but that wasn't the case. He wouldn't try to make love to her, not while staying in his parents' house. He just wanted to hold her until they both fell asleep.

He wouldn't push, though, and make her give him more than she was able to. He would settle for going to bed alone and waking up alone if that was what she needed. Before he could leave her be, however, he had to get his things out of the bag that he had left in the guest room where Katharine was staying. They had rushed to put their things away so that they could spend time with his family, and he hadn't bothered to separate his bags from hers.

Randy knocked softly on her door and opened it slightly. He saw her silhouette on the wall and looked across the way to where she stood before the mirror. Katharine had changed into a baggy t-shirt that hid her curves beneath folds of fabric, but her legs were exposed by the boxer shorts that she wore. They were rolled up so that most of her thighs were visible to his eyes. His hear began to beat faster and desire coursed through his veins. She was absolutely beautiful.

Randy gathered his wits about him and cleared his throat. "May I come in?" he asked quietly.

Katharine turned around and smiled at him, her fingers playing with the waves in her long hair. "Sure."

Randy stepped inside and closed the door behind him. He swallowed hard and fought to regain the lust that was spiraling out of control inside of him, which would have been so much easier if she didn't look so damn cute in her pajamas.

"I. . .uh. . .just need to grab my stuff," he stammered. "I'll get out of your way."

"You don't have to go," Katharine replied quickly. The truth was that she didn't want him to leave her; she wanted to spend some time with him since they had been busy with his family all day.

Randy's head snapped up and he looked at her, causing her cheeks to flush pink. "I mean. . .we could hang out for a bit before we go to sleep. I'm not really tired yet."

He set his bag down, more than willing to spend time alone with her. "Okay," he responded, but sobered up when he heard the eagerness in his voice. "If that's what you want," he added nonchalantly.

Katharine sat down on the bed and crossed her legs beneath her. "I do." She patted the empty space beside her. "Come sit beside me." She could tell that he was a little uncertain, concerned that she would not be comfortable with it once he joined her. That couldn't be further from the truth, as she was happy as could be tonight. "It's okay, Randy, I'm sure of it."

He smiled and sat down beside her, both of them leaning against the pillows and headboard. He was still dressed in his t-shirt and jeans, though his feet were bare. "Did you have a nice time today?" he asked.

She smiled brightly at him in response. "The absolute best. I can't even describe how wonderful your family is. They were so sweet and welcoming to me, everything that I always thought a family should be."

Her enthusiasm bubbled over and warmed Randy's heart. "They liked you, too, you know," he informed her.

Katharine gazed at him with an expression that displayed all that she was feeling inside. Randy could tell that she was happy. Her eyes were shining and there was an aura of peace surrounding her. In fact, she was positively glowing.

"Thank you for bringing me here," she said softly.

Randy gently took hold of her hand and laced their fingers together, drawing her slightly closer to him. "Thank you for coming with me."

His blue eyes bore deep inside of her and Katharine's breath caught in her throat. Her heart began to beat faster, pounding against her rib cage throbbing in her ears. She took in everything: the beauty of his eyes, the sincerity of his smile, the curve of his neck that gave way to the strong masculinity hidden beneath his shirt, the faint scent of the cologne that he had applied earlier in the day, the softness of his skin as their fingers lay intertwined. He was taking over all of her senses and was intoxicating. There was no question in her mind that she wanted him, but she was unsure of how far she was willing to go.

Randy slowly closed the distance between them and their lips met, softly at first with just a faint hint of contact. Katharine wanted more and she knew he did, too, but he was playing with her, sending her desire spiraling out of control. She inched closer so that their bodies were pressed together and wrapped her arms around his neck, giving him the invitation needed to go on.

Randy deepened the kiss and savored the sensation of exploring her mouth. He worked at an agonizingly slow pace that caused Katharine to whimper against him. He smiled inwardly, sensing that she was enjoying this as much as he was.

He wrapped her arms around her waist and pulled her onto his lap, her legs straddling either side of him. He caressed her back, desperately seeking contact with her skin. He gently crawled his fingers underneath her t-shirt and began to rub her bare skin. Katharine almost jumped at the contact but then give in to the pure pleasure that he was providing her.

She clung to him as their kiss continued, and Randy continued to send all of her senses into a puddle of mush. His lips trailed down her neck, kissing and caressing all the way. Her back arched as his mouth played with a tender spot as he continued to work his magic.

As soon as Katharine adjusted to his kisses, he changed the method of his madness. This time his lips found her ear, nibbling and suckling until she was a sated heap in his arms. She felt alive and on fire, as if she could fly.

Randy longed to continue but he knew in his heart that he should stop. He was experienced enough to control his desire but Katharine wasn't. If they continued on this path, they would end up making love and she could regret it in the morning. He couldn't handle that and she would never trust him again. The only way to build the trust that was needed in a relationship was to put her needs above his own. He would just have to take a cold shower later on.

His lips returned to hers and he savored the last few minutes of their kiss. Their was a lover inside of her, one that was waiting to come out if given the courage and confidence. Hopefully she would choose to share her love with him, but he would not force the issue.

Randy slowly broke away and they stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity. Katharine was breathing heavily and her skin was flushed pink. He himself felt like he was about to jump out of his skin. "I won't go any further," he promised her. "Not until, or if, you are ready."

"You never kissed me like that before," she answered, grateful for his kindness and understanding. "God. . .that was. . .I don't even know!"

Randy laughed and kissed her cheek. "I'm glad you enjoyed it."

Katharine ran her fingers over his short hair, playing with the edges at the nape of his neck. Words could not even begin to describe how she felt about his man. He was hopelessly flawed and wonderful at the same time. He knew all of her insecurities and weaknesses and he cared for her anyways. It was on the tip of her tongue to tell him that she loved him, but for whatever reason, she could not say it.

"I don't want you to leave tonight," she whispered. "I want to fall asleep in your arms. Will you stay with me?"

Randy's eyes lit up at her request. "There is nothing that I would love more," he answered in a heartfelt tone.

Katharine broke from his embrace and settled back against the pillows. "Do you want to change before we get comfortable?"

Randy glanced over at his bag. He didn't want to leave her, even for a second, but sweats would be nice. "Give me a minute," he grinned and jumped off the bed.

Katharine giggled as grabbed his pajamas out of his bag and hurried for the bathroom. In no less than one minute he had returned in a pair of gray sweatpants and the same t-shirt that he had worn all day. "You made excellent time," she teased.

Randy tossed his clothes aside and climbed into bed with Katharine. They snuggled close together and his arms encircled her, holding her in a protective embrace. Everything felt so right, so perfect, that she couldn't believe it was real. He shut the lights off and they laid together in the dark, listening to each other breathe and drifting off together. They both slept perfectly that night.


	15. Whipped Cream

**I cannot believe I haven't updated since the end of April!!!!! Thank you all so much for being so patient. . .these past two months have been absolutely insane! Hopefully updates will come faster now!**

**I know the wrestling community is still distraught over the recent tragedy that took place, and if you're anything like me you've been pretty down about it. Hopefully this will make you feel a little better. . .I know I felt better writing it.**

**As always, I disclaim. . .**

* * *

_Chapter Fifteen: Whipped Cream_

Katharine scanned the crowd in anticipation, desperately looking for Randy to appear. Twenty minutes earlier she had walked across the stage and received the diploma that granted her a bachelor's degree in rhetoric, language, and communications. She was officially a college graduate! There were times that she thought this day would never come, and now that it was here there was only one person that she wanted to spend it with. She just had to find him.

She finally spotted him standing off to the side in the lobby, searching the crowd to find her as well. He was impossible to miss, being that he was at least a head taller than the rest of the crowd and the most attractive man there. Katharine giggled and pushed through people to get to him.

Randy saw her coming and his heart swelled with pride. She was beautiful, positively glowing and beaming with happiness. He was honored that she had asked him to come to see her graduate; most people brought their families to important occasions such as this, but Katharine had said that she didn't need anyone else so long as he was there. There was no way he would have missed it.

"Hi baby girl!" he grinned at her as she reached him. He held his arms out to her and they embraced tightly, his hands getting lost in the folds of her black commencement robe. "I'm so proud of you."

"I can't believe this day finally came!" Katharine exclaimed. She pulled back so that she could look him in the eyes. "And I'm so glad that you're here. There's no one else that I would rather share it with."

Randy gave her a soft kiss, one that was simple but conveyed everything that he was feeling. "There's nowhere else I'd rather be," he answered sincerely.

"Kat!"

They were interrupted by the sound of Kellie's high-pitched voice. Katharine turned around and saw her best friend running towards her. They hugged tightly and jumped up and down, both ecstatic and overcome with joy. Randy smiled to himself as he watched the two girls. It was clear to anyone who saw them that they were best friends and the bond between them as unbreakable. As Randy watched them hug and congratulate each other, he couldn't help but wish he had been a better friend to John and Dave. They tried to stand by him and to support him unconditionally when things were rough, but he just pushed them away like he always did. He vowed never to do that again. The old Randy Orton liked living life in the fast lane as a solitary figure, but not the man that he was now. The new Randy Orton recognized that he needed people and did his best not to push them away. He was going to call John and Dave later and apologize for being such a jackass.

Once the girls had finished congratulating each other, Kellie left to go find her family and Katharine turned her attention back to Randy. At the moment, all she wanted to do was be close to him. Graduating college meant that she had faced all of the demons in her life and had won. That framed slip of paper that gave her a degree also gave her the start of the rest of her life.

She kissed his lips every so slightly and smiled. "Thank you for coming," she said softly.

"Thank you for asking me," he replied in a tone that was equally soft. Randy ran his hands up and down her arms, which were enveloped by layers of black fabric. "Come on, I have a surprise for you."

Katharine raised an eyebrow. "A surprise? May I ask what?"

He grinned devilishly at her. "You can ask but I'm not going to tell you. You'll just have to wait and see."

She laced her fingers with his and their hands molded together as if they were one. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

Randy laughed and led her away from the mob scene. He had put a lot of thought into this surprise and couldn't wait to give it to her. He only hoped she loved it as much as he did.

* * *

They were in Central Park. That was the extent of Katharine's knowledge of her whereabouts or what Randy had planned for her that afternoon. When Randy Orton promised a surprise, he took it all the way. After arriving at Central Park, he had promptly slipped a blindfold around her eyes and lifted her up into his arms, carrying her to their destination, wherever it may be. Despite numerous protests to put her down and let her see where they were going, he refused to honor her request. Katharine had finally settled back against him in resignation, forced to wait and see what would happen next. 

"How do you know I even like surprises?" she questioned as she felt them moving forward. "Maybe this kind of thing gives me panic attacks."

Randy shook his head and chuckled at her creative ways of trying to get him to tell her what he had planned. "I know for a fact that you love surprises and that they don't give you panic attacks."

Busted. "Well, maybe I'm really uncomfortable at the moment," she tried again, though this attempt was much weaker than the first.

"You're lying once again," he reprimanded her in a teasing tone. "You are perfectly comfortable in my arms. In fact, I bet you're feeling pretty safe right about now because you know I'd never let anything happen to you."

Katharine grit her teeth in frustration and then sighed. He was right, damn him. There was nowhere else in the world she'd rather be than in his arms, not only because he was wonderful and tender, but because she did feel perfectly safe with him.

"Okay fine, I give up!" she acquiesced.

"And just in time," Randy replied as he stopped moving. "We're here."

Katharine listened intently, but all she could hear was the quiet rustling of the slight breeze in the trees. Voices were nowhere to be heard and it sounded like they were all alone. Her heart began to beat rapidly in her chest and for a brief second she was frightened, but then she reminded herself that she was with Randy. He would always take care of her and she had nothing to fear from him.

"Happy graduation," Randy whispered in her ear. He gently set her on her feet and removed the blindfold, exposing Katharine's eyes to the sunlight and the surprise that waited for her.

Katharine gasped at the sight of what lay before her. Spread out on the ground was a red blanket and on top of it sat a picnic basket. A bottle of champagne and two glasses rested nearby, as well as a bouquet of pink roses, which happened to be her favorite flower.

"Oh my gosh, Randy!" she exclaimed. "This is. . .it's so sweet!"

Randy loved it when Katharine was at a loss for words. Since she was a writer and always dealt with words it didn't happen too often, but when it did he knew he had done something to make her happy. He wrapped his arms around her from behind, his hands folding together around the flat surface of her belly. "Congratulations again," he said softly.

"How did you do this?" she asked. "You've been with me at the graduation all day."

Randy shrugged his shoulders. "That's not important. I had a little help, that's all."

Katharine shook her head. "You're too much, you know that?"

He chuckled. "You wouldn't have me any other way."

She gently turned around, Randy's arms still encircling her. "You're the best," she smiled as she gazed up into his eyes, blue pools that were filled with such happiness and tenderness. Those emotions were all for her.

"Only because of you," he answered. Katharine gave him the resolve and the courage to be a good person, someone that even he could be proud of. "Now why don't you go see what's inside that basket?"

"More surprises?" she questioned in a teasing tone. She giggled when he merely smiled in response. "You spoil me, Randy Orton."

He let her go and watched as she kicked out of her open-toed stiletto pumps, leaving her barefoot in the grass and suddenly much shorter than before. She gave him a quick kiss and hurried over to the picnic basket, her pale green sleeveless dress hugging her curves in all the right places in the process. Randy sucked in his breath and exhibited a Herculean effort at maintaining his composure. Katharine was beautiful and could be a model. Being that he was a red-blooded American male, it was difficult at times to remember to be patient and go slow with her. Now happened to be one of those times.

Katharine peered into the basket and squealed when she saw what saw inside. "You didn't!" she exclaimed.

"Oh but I did," Randy grinned as he approached her. "It's all of your favorites. We've got chocolate covered strawberries, angel food cake, and all of the Godiva chocolate you can eat."

She righted herself and raised an eyebrow, one hand displaying a can of whipped cream. "And this?"

Randy merely shrugged in response. "Add it to the chocolate covered strawberries. It's really good."

Katharine gave a slow nod. They were alone in the park and she was feeling devilish. "You know what else is really good?" she asked as she stepped closer to him.

She had no idea what she was doing to him. Randy swallowed hard. "What?"

Katharine grinned at him. "This."

He anticipated a kiss but what he received in response was far different. She poured a dollop of whipped cream in her hand and smeared it in his face before he had a chance to react. He was left sputtering while she giggled uncontrollably.

"Oh my gosh!" Katharine laughed as she doubled over in hysterics. "You should see yourself, Randy!"

He wiped the whipped cream from his face and rubbed it between his fingers. "Yeah, I guess it is pretty funny," he agreed as he assessed the situation. "You know what else is funny?"

Katharine stopped laughing when she saw him creating a glob of whipped cream in his hands, resembling a snowball. "No way," she said. "You keep your that away from me!"

Randy chuckled as she moved forward. She stepped back, maintaining the distance between them. "But I want to share," he teased.

"No, that's okay," she disagreed. "Besides, it's my graduation day. You don't want to spoil that."

"Consider it a gift," he answered.

Katharine dropped the can of whipped cream that she had been holding and began to run. Randy wasn't far behind and he chased her around their blanket. It was far from serious, for they were both laughing the whole time.

Randy eventually caught up to her and Katharine felt herself lifted high in the air. "Randy!" she cried as he lowered them both to the blanket. She lay beneath him before she knew it and he stretched out on top of her. He ran his hands up her arms, leaving a trail of whipped cream in their wake.

Her eyes widened as his hands began to work their way up to her face. "You wouldn't dare!"

His blue eyes twinkled. "Oh, I would!"

Randy thought he had her right where he wanted her, but Katharine turned the tables on him. She quickly grabbed his hands and shoved the whipped cream back in his face so that he was once again covered with it.

"Ha ha!" she laughed triumphantly. "I win!"

Randy shook his head and sat back on his heels, realizing that he could not win with her. "I have been thoroughly defeated," he admitted.

Katharine sat up as well, her long curls tumbling about her shoulders. "Let's call a truce. I wouldn't want you to embarrass yourself any further than you already have."

"Truce," he agreed.

Katharine rose to her knees so that they were at eye level with each other. "You look cute in whipped cream," she teased.

"Thanks."

Randy reached for napkins and began to wipe the whipped cream from his face. Katharine rubbed the small traces from her arms watched him and bit her bottom lip. Randy was everything she had ever wanted in a man, everything she could ever want. She loved him without a doubt and she wanted him to know that.

But first there was still the issue of the whipped cream. "I think I'm all clean now," Randy said as he tossed the napkins to the side.

Katharine shook her head. "Not quite." She slid closer to him and wrapped his arms around his neck. "You have a little. . .right here."

To Randy's surprise, Katharine leaned in and kissed him. It was soft and gentle, just like her. He had never known a woman like her. She was innocent and sweet, and that drove him crazy.

She drew out his bottom lip and sucked on it ever so lightly, causing shivers to course through him. Randy drew her closer, wrapping his hands around her waist and pressing her to him.

Katharine slowly pulled back and he gazed at her with hazy eyes. "What was that for?" he whispered.

She smiled, ready to confess all that was in her heart. "Because I love you," she said softly.

Randy blinked, unsure that he had heard her correctly. Had she just said she loved him? By the look on her face, he knew that she really had said it. His heart throbbed against his rib cage, ready to burst out of his chest. This beautiful woman who had so much to offer actually loved him. He didn't know what he had done to deserve her, but he was thankful for whatever it was.

"Can I tell you a secret?" Randy replied, his voice just as soft as hers had been. "I love you, too."

Her smile turned into a wide grin and she tightened her hold around him. Katharine hugged him close and buried her head in his shoulder. She was so happy she couldn't speak, for he loved her back.

They held one another for what seemed like an eternity, but neither cared about how much time had passed. They had each other and that was all that mattered. Both felt so blessed that the other had come into their lives and they knew for the first time in a long while that everything was going to be alright.


End file.
